Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:ELV opened at $391.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $90.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.83. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $384.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $450.70.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Sell-side analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 34.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ELV. Barclays upped their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.03.

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.