Kennedy Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,309,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 86.8% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 278,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,281,000 after buying an additional 129,364 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 52,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,663,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in Elevance Health by 158.1% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 844,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,054,000 after purchasing an additional 517,116 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 114.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 31,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,765,000 after purchasing an additional 16,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total value of $154,561.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,926,213.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total transaction of $154,561.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,721 shares in the company, valued at $4,926,213.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total value of $17,033,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at $63,478,674.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ELV shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Elevance Health in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 price objective (down previously from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $628.00 to $631.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $604.29.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE ELV traded down $3.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $532.89. 179,497 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,059,031. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $431.38 and a 12 month high of $555.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $529.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $517.08.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $10.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.99 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $43.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.99 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Elevance Health 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.