Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Elevance Health by 1,101.9% during the first quarter, owning 43,665 shares valued at approximately $18.99 million.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their target prices for Elevance Health, with Barclays and Guggenheim lowering their targets to $358.00 and $360.00 respectively, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Elevance Health reported $8.84 EPS for the last quarter, missing expectations, but overall revenue increased by 14.3% year-over-year to $49.42 billion.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 1,101.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,665 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,032 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $18,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 152.0% in the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 1,340.0% in the 1st quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 72 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $400.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $500.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (down from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $478.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Twelve equities 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.81.

Elevance Health Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of ELV stock traded up $6.2370 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $315.8370. 2,961,044 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,567,187. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $273.71 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company's 50-day moving average price is $324.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $378.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.58.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.30 by ($0.46). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 2.83%.The firm had revenue of $49.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.12 earnings per share. Elevance Health's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,149.30. This trade represents a 52.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux acquired 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $286.94 per share, with a total value of $2,438,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.