Meritage Portfolio Management Purchases 478 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,678 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $5,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 0.9% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.0% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $602.00 to $604.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Elevance Health from $584.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.42.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $538.86. 378,498 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,055,795. The company has a market cap of $125.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.78. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $412.00 and a fifty-two week high of $542.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $511.40 and its 200 day moving average is $485.81.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $42.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.49 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 24.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total value of $7,531,605.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,791,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Elevance Health 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total value of $7,531,605.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,791,460.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.