Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 42.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 165 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on ELV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Stephens downgraded 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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 that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $428.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $97.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $408.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $418.26. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Elevance Health Company 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.