2,000 Shares in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Purchased by OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd

OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000. Elevance Health comprises about 1.0% of OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens downgraded Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % 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.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $431.29 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $396.48 and a 200 day moving average of $427.94. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $362.21 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

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.