Ethic Inc. Acquires 12,806 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 52.5%, acquiring a total of 37,205 shares valued at approximately $16.1 million according to its recent SEC filings.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, made significant purchases, with GAMMA's holdings increasing by a whopping 81,726.5% in the first quarter.
• Elevance Health's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $8.84, which was below analysts' expectations, although revenue rose by 14.3% year-over-year.

Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 52.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,205 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,806 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $16,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 152.0% during the first 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. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its stake 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the period. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other news, CEO Gail Boudreaux bought 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $286.94 per share, for a total transaction of $2,438,990.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. The trade was a 5.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $472.00 to $384.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective (down previously from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $447.00 to $360.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $428.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $500.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.81.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV traded up $13.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $308.86. 3,414,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,818,475. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $273.71 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $69.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $331.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $381.53.

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

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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

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.