Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV Stock Position Increased by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel raised its stake in Elevance Health by 4.1% in Q4, adding 3,912 shares to hold 98,898 shares worth $34.67 million, about 1.3% of the fund's portfolio and its 29th largest holding.
• Elevance beat Q4 EPS estimates with $3.33 versus the $3.10 consensus, while revenue was $49.31 billion (slightly below estimates) and rose 9.6% year-over-year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.72 (annualized $6.88), yielding about 2.2% with a payout ratio near 27.4%.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,898 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,912 shares during the period. Elevance Health accounts for about 1.3% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $34,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Elevance Health by 331.6% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 66.7% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 85 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 110.0% during the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 84 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Motco raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 334.8% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 100 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 431.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 117 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $313.44 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $310.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.09. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $273.71 and a 52 week high of $441.47. The stock has a market cap of $68.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.49.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $49.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.52 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.500- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.72 dividend. This is an increase from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $332.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $394.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $359.00 to $352.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $414.00 to $396.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $384.67.

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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