Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV is Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, owning 142,721 shares, which represent 1.8% of its investment portfolio.
• CEO Gail Boudreaux purchased 8,500 shares of Elevance Health at an average price of $286.94, increasing her holdings and reflecting confidence in the company's prospects.
• Elevance Health announced a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share, with a 2.2% annualized yield and a payout ratio of 29.11%.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,721 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health accounts for approximately 1.8% of Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Elevance Health worth $62,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $299,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Elevance Health by 185.7% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,922,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,991,000 after buying an additional 7,410 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $500.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $484.00 price target (down from $555.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, July 14th. 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. Wall Street Zen cut Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $310.00 price target (down from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.81.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV stock traded up $8.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $319.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,115,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,235,535. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $273.71 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $71.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The company's fifty day moving average is $317.92 and its 200-day moving average is $375.90.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business had revenue of $49.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.11%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Susan D. Devore acquired 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $312.15 per share, for a total transaction of $374,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,149.30. This trade represents a 52.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux acquired 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $286.94 per share, with a total value of $2,438,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. This represents a 5.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

About Elevance Health

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.