Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 381 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 381 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $2,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $469,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Elevance Health by 1.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,310,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Elevance Health by 12.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in Elevance Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ELV shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $423.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $392.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $431.56. The company has a market cap of $96.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

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.