Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Invests $49.14 Million in Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 127,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,142,000. Elevance Health makes up approximately 1.4% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 160.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 50,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,698,000 after buying an additional 31,101 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter worth $970,000. Solidarity Wealth LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $1,433,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 1,423.1% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 368,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,152,000 after acquiring an additional 344,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the second quarter valued at about $1,765,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ELV. Bank of America raised their price target on Elevance Health from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Elevance Health from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Elevance Health from $331.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on Elevance Health from $435.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $399.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $440.90.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 151 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.77, for a total transaction of $60,667.27. Following the sale, the director owned 10,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,312,599.18. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $397.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $394.82 and its 200-day moving average is $359.63. The company has a market cap of $86.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.84 and a 52-week high of $436.24.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $7.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.21 by $1.24. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $49.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 27.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.58%.

Elevance Health 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.