Pzena Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 193,997 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $71,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Elevance Health by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,687,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,557,759,000 after buying an additional 129,709 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,848,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,511,814,000 after buying an additional 85,770 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,609,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,396,814,000 after buying an additional 44,805 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Elevance Health by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,320,024,000 after buying an additional 286,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Elevance Health by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,574,000 after buying an additional 334,552 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health 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 stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $409.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $391.45 and a 200 day moving average of $432.42.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ELV shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens cut 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.