American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 3.1%, owning approximately $38.04 million worth of shares after purchasing an additional 2,605 shares in the first quarter.
• CEO Gail Boudreaux acquired 8,500 shares at an average price of $286.94, boosting her holdings in Elevance Health to around $43 million.
• Wall Street analysts have adjusted their price targets for Elevance Health shares, with targets now ranging from $310 to $384, signaling a cautious outlook amidst recent price adjustments.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,444 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,605 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $38,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 52.5% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 37,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,098,000 after purchasing an additional 12,806 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 16.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Sector Gamma AS grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 66.6% during the first quarter. Sector Gamma AS now owns 28,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,518,000 after buying an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 24.8% during the first quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 29,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,954,000 after buying an additional 5,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 4.4% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,149.30. This trade represents a 52.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux purchased 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $286.94 per share, for a total transaction of $2,438,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV traded up $6.2370 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $315.8370. The company had a trading volume of 2,961,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,567,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $71.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.58. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $273.71 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $324.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $378.55.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.30 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $49.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.26 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm's revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Elevance Health's payout ratio is 29.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective (down from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $478.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $484.00 price target (down from $555.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, July 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $413.81.

About Elevance Health

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.