AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 224,536 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 53.6% during the first quarter, now owning 643,172 shares valued at approximately $279.75 million.
• Elevance Health reported earnings of $8.84 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by ($0.46), with revenues of $49.42 billion, significantly above analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%, with the payment scheduled for September 25th.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 53.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 643,172 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 224,536 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.28% of Elevance Health worth $279,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,199,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 41,180 shares of the company's stock worth $15,191,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 5,548 shares of the company's stock worth $2,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $16,600,000. Finally, Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 2,966 shares of the company's stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Elevance Health stock traded down $4.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $309.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 629,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,690. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $273.71 and a 52-week high of $559.95. The company has a market cap of $69.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50-day moving average is $312.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $373.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.30 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $49.42 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ELV shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $327.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $500.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $411.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, CEO Gail Boudreaux acquired 8,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,333,678.80. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,149.30. This represents a 52.13% 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 corporate insiders.

Elevance Health 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.