Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,488,911 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,653 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $918,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $433.02 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $406.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $418.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted 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 net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ELV. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

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.