Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Raises Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd boosted its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,149 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,994 shares during the period. Elevance Health accounts for approximately 2.9% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $18,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Roundview Capital LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at $251,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 0.4% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,305,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 52.1% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Elevance Health by 102.9% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $580.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $561.00 to $557.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.00.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of ELV traded up $20.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $529.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,575,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,039,914. The company has a market cap of $123.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $508.17 and a 200 day moving average of $482.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $412.00 and a 1 year high of $539.11.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.02. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 3.49%. The firm had revenue of $42.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.90%.

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.