Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 1,780,232 Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 1.78 million Elevance Health shares worth approximately $688.5 million in the second quarter, giving it an estimated 0.82% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 89.24% of the company.
• Elevance Health exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $7.45 versus the $6.21 consensus and revenue of $49.83 billion, up 0.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.72 per share, equal to an annualized $6.88 payout and a 1.7% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $440.90.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,780,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $688,469,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.82% of Elevance Health at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $970,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 1,423.1% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 368,426 shares of the company's stock worth $129,152,000 after purchasing an additional 344,237 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the second quarter worth $1,765,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Elevance Health by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 207,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,597,000 after purchasing an additional 20,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Elevance Health by 7.8% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 79,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,865,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $402.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $394.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $360.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.84 and a 12-month high of $436.24.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $7.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.21 by $1.24. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $49.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 27.18 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 151 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.77, for a total transaction of $60,667.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,312,599.18. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ELV shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $488.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $400.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $439.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $480.00 to $457.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Elevance Health to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $440.90.

Elevance Health Company 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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