Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 268,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,168 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $99,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Keystone Financial Services increased its stake in Elevance Health by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 1,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,501,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Elevance Health by 103.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,232,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $382.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $384.96 and a 200 day moving average of $447.12. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $88.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.83. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 34.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ELV. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $517.03.

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.