Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health accounts for approximately 2.2% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $5,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $376,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ELV. Barclays began coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Elevance Health from $547.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.36.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV traded up $0.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $520.32. The stock had a trading volume of 268,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,013,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $121.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.78. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $412.00 and a one year high of $521.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $500.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.45.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.02. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The firm had revenue of $42.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 25.90%.

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.