Sector Gamma AS Increases Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• Sector Gamma AS increased its stake in Elevance Health by 66.6% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 28,779 shares valued at $12.5 million.
• Elevance Health reported earnings per share of $8.84 for the last quarter, missing estimates, but its revenue rose to $49.42 billion, surpassing expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.71, with a yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 29.11%, set to be paid out on September 25th.

Sector Gamma AS boosted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 66.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,779 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Elevance Health comprises 4.0% of Sector Gamma AS's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Sector Gamma AS's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $12,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 152.0% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1,340.0% during the first quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 72 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ELV shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Elevance Health from $500.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $484.00 target price (down previously from $555.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $400.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.81.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.4%

ELV stock traded down $1.3310 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $310.6690. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,134,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,721,708. 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 twelve month low of $273.71 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The company's fifty day moving average price is $327.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $379.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). 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 previous year, the firm posted $10.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other news, CEO Gail Boudreaux bought 8,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $286.94 per share, with a total value of $2,438,990.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,333,678.80. This represents a 5.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Company 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.