Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Decreases Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP reduced its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fountainhead AM LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $767,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its stake in Elevance Health by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 12,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ELV. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $557.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price (up from $580.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.42.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.2 %

ELV stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $533.79. The stock had a trading volume of 895,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,064,366. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $510.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $485.10. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $412.00 and a 52-week high of $539.11. The firm has a market cap of $124.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.78.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.