ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $34.67 Million Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 98,898 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,912 shares during the period. Elevance Health accounts for 1.3% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $34,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Elevance Health by 24.5% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,576,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,857,000 after buying an additional 901,626 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 25.0% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,998,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,292,029,000 after buying an additional 798,457 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 65.3% during the third quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,834,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,603,000 after buying an additional 724,349 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,319,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,195,000 after purchasing an additional 703,000 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,045,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,935,000 after purchasing an additional 627,038 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:ELV opened at $313.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $68.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.49. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $273.71 and a 52 week high of $441.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $310.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $332.09.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The company had revenue of $49.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. Elevance Health’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.500- EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ELV. Barclays dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $404.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $424.00 to $391.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $332.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $414.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.67.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc (NYSE: ELV) is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company’s strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance’s core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.