Raymond James & Associates Buys 14,161 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,805 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,161 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.11% of Elevance Health worth $136,793,000 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 business. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Elevance Health by 1.0% in the first quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,248,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in Elevance Health by 0.9% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 18,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,482,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the first quarter worth about $4,637,000. Insight Folios Inc raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 13.6% in the first quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 13.5% in the first quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ELV. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $580.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $580.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com lowered Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $584.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $557.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.42.

Elevance Health Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ELV stock traded down $5.40 on Tuesday, hitting $528.58. The stock had a trading volume of 946,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,578. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.78. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $412.00 and a 1 year high of $542.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $512.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $487.94.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm had revenue of $42.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.46 EPS. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total transaction of $7,531,605.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,791,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total value of $7,531,605.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,791,460.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.