Leuthold Group LLC Buys 3,428 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Leuthold Group LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,732 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $8,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the second quarter valued at about $7,344,424,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,426,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,032,283,000 after buying an additional 137,914 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 12.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,213,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,563,142,000 after buying an additional 984,976 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.4% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,188,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,619,701,000 after buying an additional 55,905 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,246,349,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $451.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $473.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $364.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $488.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $456.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ratnakar Lavu sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.00, for a total value of $572,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,533,560. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Kaye sold 10,584 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.13, for a total transaction of $4,658,335.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,766,949.47. This represents a 34.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $417.73 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $413.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $373.82. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.84 and a 52 week high of $450.69. The company has a market capitalization of $90.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $6.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.71 by $2.28. The firm had revenue of $50.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.28 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 2.55%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 29.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $1.72 dividend. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.34%.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc is a U.S. health benefits and services company. Formerly known as Anthem, Inc, it adopted the Elevance Health name in 2022 while retaining the Anthem brand for many of its health plans.

The company offers medical, pharmacy, dental, vision and behavioral health coverage, including plans for individuals and employers as well as programs serving Medicare and Medicaid members. Its services also include care management, pharmacy benefit services and other health-related capabilities through its Carelon business.

Elevance Health operates primarily in the United States, with health plans serving members across multiple states and access to broader provider networks through its Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliations.