Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,864 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $23,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 51,967.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 657,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,956,000 after purchasing an additional 656,344 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Elevance Health by 309.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 713,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,794,000 after buying an additional 538,978 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 85,533.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,972,000 after acquiring an additional 532,016 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 16.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,246,574,000 after acquiring an additional 334,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,320,024,000 after acquiring an additional 286,905 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV stock opened at $390.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $90.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $385.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $445.29. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. As a group, research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 34 EPS for the current 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 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ELV. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $517.03.

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.