Meritage Portfolio Management Purchases 478 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,678 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $5,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 0.9% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 1.0% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV traded down $0.82 on Friday, reaching $538.86. The stock had a trading volume of 378,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,055,795. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $412.00 and a 12-month high of $542.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $511.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $485.81. The stock has a market cap of $125.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.78.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.54 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.49 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. Elevance Health’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total value of $7,531,605.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,460 shares in the company, valued at $16,791,460.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total transaction of $7,531,605.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,460 shares in the company, valued at $16,791,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at $4,554,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ELV. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.42.

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.