Wealthfront Advisers LLC Boosts Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 1,034.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 151,019 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137,705 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $55,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ELV. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $716,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 115,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,629,000 after buying an additional 10,216 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $184,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 193,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,565,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $409.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $391.45 and a 200 day moving average of $432.42.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ELV. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.