PDS Planning Inc Has $560,000 Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

PDS Planning Inc lowered its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ELV. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,612 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 309.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 713,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,794,000 after purchasing an additional 538,978 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 16.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,574,000 after purchasing an additional 334,552 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,320,024,000 after purchasing an additional 286,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter worth $129,221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ELV. Argus upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating 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, March 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.81.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’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 transaction of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $436.32 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $99.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $397.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $427.09.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio 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.