Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV Stock Position Boosted by Focused Investors LLC

Key Points

• Focused Investors LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 1.9%, holding 514,900 shares, which represents approximately 6.6% of its total holdings.
• Elevance Health reported $8.84 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates of $9.30, although its revenue grew by 14.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend of $1.71 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 29.11%.

Focused Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 514,900 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health makes up about 6.6% of Focused Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Focused Investors LLC owned 0.23% of Elevance Health worth $200,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ELV. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the first quarter worth about $90,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 5.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,893 shares of the company's stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,483 shares of the company's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 9.4% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the company's stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 10.8% during the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 822 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV opened at $357.52 on Wednesday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $273.71 and a twelve month high of $510.24. The stock's 50 day moving average is $310.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $360.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $312.15 per share, for a total transaction of $374,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,149.30. The trade was a 52.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux acquired 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $286.94 per share, with a total value of $2,438,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $310.00 price target (down previously from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $428.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $472.00 to $384.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $416.19.

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.

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