Perpetual Ltd Sells 95,172 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd significantly reduced its holdings in Elevance Health, selling 95,172 shares and decreasing its position by 98.5% during the second quarter.
• CEO Gail Boudreaux acquired 8,500 shares of Elevance Health stock, increasing her ownership by 5.96% to a total of 151,020 shares.
• Analysts have downgraded Elevance Health's price targets, with Robert W. Baird lowering its objective from $492 to $297 while maintaining a "neutral" rating.

Perpetual Ltd reduced its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 98.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,462 shares of the company's stock after selling 95,172 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 152.0% in the 1st 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 period. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Riverview Trust Co raised 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ELV shares. Wall Street Zen cut Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $472.00 to $384.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $500.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $428.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $411.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan D. Devore acquired 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $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 at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux acquired 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $286.94 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV traded up $4.76 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $318.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,456,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,950,699. The company has a market cap of $71.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $303.03 and a 200 day moving average of $367.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $273.71 and a 1 year high of $542.22.

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

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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

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.