J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Boosts Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. by 22.0%, acquiring an additional 3,567 shares to hold a total of 19,760 shares valued at $8,595,000.
• Elevance Health's stock recently experienced a decline of 3.2% and reported earnings of $8.84 per share, missing analysts' consensus estimate of $9.30.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.5%, to be paid on September 25th to investors of record.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 22.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,760 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,567 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $8,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 2.1% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 36,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,886,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 2.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 79,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Castellan Group raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 98.6% during the first quarter. Castellan Group now owns 11,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,942,000 after acquiring an additional 5,642 shares during the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 18.1% during the first quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 20,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,807,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Stock Down 3.2%

Elevance Health stock traded down $8.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $274.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,380,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,196,180. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $273.84 and a fifty-two week 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 cap of $61.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $349.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $389.08.

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 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 business had revenue of $49.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.12 earnings per share. The firm'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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.5%. Elevance Health's payout ratio is 29.11%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other news, CEO Gail Boudreaux bought 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $286.94 per share, for a total transaction of $2,438,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ELV shares. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target (down from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $478.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on Elevance Health from $455.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $500.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $418.19.

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.