Finward Bancorp Takes $481,000 Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Finward Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ELV. Tobam boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, RDA Financial Network grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 6,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ELV. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $529.00 price target (down from $625.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Tuesday. Stephens downgraded Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $437.83 on Wednesday. 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 market cap of $99.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $414.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $412.17. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Elevance Health Company 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.