Vestcor Inc Decreases Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Vestcor Inc lowered its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $5,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Tobam increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $417.77 on Friday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $94.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $394.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $431.33. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. On average, analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost 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 1.64%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ELV. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.03.

Elevance Health 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.