Machina Capital S.A.S. Lowers Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Machina Capital S.A.S. cut its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 41.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,155 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,510 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ELV. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,261,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,855,750,000 after acquiring an additional 58,013 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,087,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,456,132,000 after acquiring an additional 27,986 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,784,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,212,521,000 after acquiring an additional 46,322 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,416,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,175,000 after acquiring an additional 57,098 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,379,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,035,884,000 after acquiring an additional 160,524 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Elevance Health news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,791,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV stock traded up $6.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $536.17. The company had a trading volume of 682,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,446. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $514.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $489.68. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $412.00 and a 52-week high of $542.07. The stock has a market cap of $124.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ELV shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com lowered Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Elevance Health from $602.00 to $604.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.