OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd Takes Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000. Elevance Health accounts for 1.0% of OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% during the third 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. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $431.29 on Tuesday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The stock has a market cap of $98.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $396.48 and a 200-day moving average of $427.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ELV shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.81.

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.