Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 87.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,393 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $2,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.2% in the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Tobam lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 434 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Services lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 1,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Trading Up 1.2%

ELV opened at $384.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $357.45 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The business's 50 day moving average is $410.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $400.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $11.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.60 by $1.37. The company had revenue of $48.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.26 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. On average, research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Elevance Health's payout ratio is currently 26.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ELV. Wall Street Zen raised Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $478.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $522.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.53.

Insider Activity

In other Elevance Health news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark Kaye sold 4,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.82, for a total value of $1,949,074.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,809.14. The trade was a 19.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.

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