Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 381 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 381 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $2,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’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 value of $1,388,635.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business’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 value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $405.40 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.03.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV stock opened at $423.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $96.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $362.21 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $392.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $431.56.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

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.