Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Stock Holdings Increased by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 643 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Elevance Health during the third quarter worth $26,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens lowered shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $517.03.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV opened at $397.09 on Friday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The company has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $387.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.