Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $1,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Argus raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.81.

Elevance Health Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $452.70 on Friday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The company has a market capitalization of $102.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $408.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $419.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.