HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 40.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,656 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $15,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV opened at $421.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $95.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $362.21 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $395.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $429.65.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.03.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.