Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,504 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $8,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Kaye sold 4,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.82, for a total transaction of $1,949,074.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,061,809.14. This trade represents a 19.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,535 shares of company stock valued at $3,521,612 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ELV shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $455.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $512.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.38.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $404.52 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $424.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $404.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $11.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by $1.37. The business had revenue of $48.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.26 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. As a group, analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.69%.

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.