Norges Bank Buys New Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,135,014,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 6.3% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6.8% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 54.3% during the third quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP now owns 133,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,191,000 after purchasing an additional 46,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 265,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,282,000 after purchasing an additional 8,691 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $431.81 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $403.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $422.91. 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 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 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.