Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV Holdings Raised by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,131 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Elevance Health comprises about 1.8% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.06% of Elevance Health worth $48,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,152,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,635,281,000 after purchasing an additional 666,534 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,849,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,239,276,000 after buying an additional 680,228 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,676,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,041,000 after buying an additional 324,040 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,116,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,501,000 after buying an additional 24,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,943,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,394,000 after purchasing an additional 29,174 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $472.00 to $384.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $447.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $411.06.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $351.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $307.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $361.67. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $273.71 and a 52 week high of $510.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.59.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.30 by ($0.46). Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $49.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gail Boudreaux purchased 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $286.94 per share, with a total value of $2,438,990.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,149.30. The trade was a 52.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.