B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Trims Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 47.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,565 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $7,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 12.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $532,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth $978,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth $710,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 223.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 2,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.8 %

ELV opened at $435.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $405.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $419.64. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $362.21 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 26.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.