Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV Stake Cut by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Yacktman Asset Management trimmed its Elevance Health stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, though the fund still held 328,756 shares valued at about $115.2 million.
• Elevance Health recently beat first-quarter earnings expectations and raised its EPS guidance, while analysts have also nudged estimates higher for FY2026 and FY2027.
• Several analysts remain constructive on ELV: Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy, and the consensus rating is now Moderate Buy with an average price target of $384.58.

Yacktman Asset Management LP cut its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,756 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,617 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health accounts for about 1.6% of Yacktman Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned about 0.15% of Elevance Health worth $115,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 18,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,532,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 150.8% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 9,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 5,483 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,138,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $351,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Elevance Health News

Here are the key news stories impacting Elevance Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Elevance beat first-quarter expectations and raised EPS guidance, which is helping support investor confidence in the company’s near-term outlook. A Look At Elevance Health (ELV) Valuation After Q1 Beat And Raised EPS Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted FY2026 EPS estimates to $26.79 from $25.53, matching the consensus estimate and signaling stronger expected earnings this year.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also raised FY2027 EPS estimates to $28.51 from $28.40, and increased its Q2 2027 forecast to $7.23 from $7.20, suggesting analysts still see healthy longer-term profitability.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ELV. Bank of America upgraded Elevance Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $405.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Elevance Health from $397.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Elevance Health from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $424.00 to $391.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $384.58.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV opened at $377.66 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $312.92 and its 200-day moving average is $332.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.66. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $273.71 and a one year high of $424.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.74 by $1.84. The firm had revenue of $49.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.21 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 2.62%.Elevance Health's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.97 earnings per share. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.850- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 26.79 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. Elevance Health's payout ratio is presently 29.26%.

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.

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