Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Bought by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 858,171 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 147,103 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health comprises approximately 1.2% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $404,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 1st quarter worth approximately $251,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,305,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 52.1% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV stock traded up $20.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $529.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,311,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,196. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $508.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $123.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.78. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $412.00 and a 52-week high of $539.11.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.02. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 3.49%. The business had revenue of $42.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 25.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ELV shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $561.00 to $557.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $580.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.00.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $376,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits.