Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Holdings Reduced by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 294,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,411 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $108,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Elevance Health by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 535,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,429,000 after acquiring an additional 29,012 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,000,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,044,000 after purchasing an additional 316,002 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $28,164,000. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 1,550.4% in the 4th quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 1,969 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $430.48 on Wednesday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $362.21 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The company has a market cap of $97.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $410.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $415.05.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ELV. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Stephens cut Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health 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 shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.