Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Bought by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 176.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,108 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV stock opened at $412.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $95.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $483.60 and a 200-day moving average of $516.04. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $397.98 and a 12-month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ELV shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 target price (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 price target (down previously from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.20.

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.