Vest Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 17.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 99,799 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,809 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $38,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $336,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,991,000 after buying an additional 7,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective (down previously from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Elevance Health from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $360.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $342.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $412.00.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, CEO Gail Boudreaux bought 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $286.94 per share, for a total transaction of $2,438,990.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan D. Devore bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.15 per share, for a total transaction of $374,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,149.30. The trade was a 52.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Trading Down 1.4%

ELV stock opened at $353.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $273.71 and a 12-month high of $510.24. The stock has a market cap of $79.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $315.10 and its 200 day moving average is $358.17.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.30 by ($0.46). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 2.83%.The firm had revenue of $49.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 29.11%.

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.