Ramirez Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• Ramirez Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Elevance Health, raising its holdings by 787.8% to a total of 3,649 shares, valued at approximately $1.42 million.
• Elevance Health's stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with some lowering their price targets while maintaining an "overweight" rating, resulting in an average target price of $414.63.
• The company reported a missed earnings per share estimate for the latest quarter, posting $8.84 compared to the expected $9.30, despite seeing a revenue increase of 14.3% year-over-year.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 787.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,649 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,238 shares during the quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $1,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 152.0% in the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ELV shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $428.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs cut Elevance Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $472.00 to $384.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $360.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $414.63.

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.1%

ELV opened at $358.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $273.71 and a 12 month high of $510.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $313.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $359.66.

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 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 firm had revenue of $49.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Elevance Health's payout ratio is presently 29.11%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, CEO Gail Boudreaux bought 8,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $286.94 per share, for a total transaction of $2,438,990.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,333,678.80. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan D. Devore bought 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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