Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,249 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,132 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,249 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $5,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $1,135,014,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,355,532 shares of the company's stock worth $2,344,556,000 after buying an additional 1,893,947 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,612 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6,817.8% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 908,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $335,254,000 after acquiring an additional 895,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $294,751,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ELV. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus set a $465.00 price target on Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $529.00 price objective (down previously from $625.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Elevance Health from $512.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.38.

Insider Activity

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Kaye sold 4,588 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.82, for a total value of $1,949,074.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,809.14. This represents a 19.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,535 shares of company stock valued at $3,521,612. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV traded down $7.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $404.52. 948,113 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,472,531. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The company has a market capitalization of $91.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. The business's 50 day moving average is $424.13 and its 200-day moving average is $404.41.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $11.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.60 by $1.37. The firm had revenue of $48.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.26 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.69%.

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.