Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 8,868 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Key Points

• Verdence Capital cut its stake in Elevance by 42.7%, selling 8,868 shares and leaving it with 11,881 shares worth about $4.165 million.
• Elevance beat Q1 estimates (EPS $12.58 vs. $10.74) and raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to at least $26.75; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $380.42.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.72 (annualized $6.88, ~2.0% yield), and institutional investors own about 89.24% of the stock.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 42.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,881 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,868 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $4,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ELV. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 7.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 163,668 shares of the company's stock worth $63,666,000 after purchasing an additional 11,745 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 41.5% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,619 shares of the company's stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.9% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 65,945 shares of the company's stock worth $25,650,000 after purchasing an additional 4,272 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 5.0% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,371 shares of the company's stock worth $16,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 111.8% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 43,911 shares of the company's stock worth $17,080,000 after purchasing an additional 23,180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Elevance Health from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Elevance Health from $396.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Elevance Health from $394.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $400.00 price objective on Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.42.

Key Stories Impacting Elevance Health

Here are the key news stories impacting Elevance Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and upgraded outlook — ELV reported strong Q1 results (EPS $12.58 vs. estimates) and raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to at least $26.75 while targeting ~12% EPS growth in 2027, which supports earnings upside and margin improvement. Elevance raises 2026 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Large analyst upgrade — Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target to $424 and kept an "outperform" rating, implying ~23% upside; a high-conviction bullish call that can attract demand. Bernstein raises PT to $424
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiteration of Buy — Barclays stuck with a Buy rating, signaling institutional confidence that can provide support for the shares. Barclays sticks to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Operational tailwinds noted — Management highlighted medical cost controls and AI-driven margin expansion, and major outlets reported the company raised its annual profit forecast on those controls, reinforcing the positive earnings message. Profit forecast raised on cost controls
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst PT lifts with conservative ratings — Several firms nudged up targets but kept neutral/hold stances (Goldman to $370 neutral; Deutsche Bank to $363 hold; Evercore to $360 in-line). These raise reference prices but signal measured optimism. Goldman raises PT to $370
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies update — Jefferies revised its forecasts after a deeper look at exchange-segment dynamics and trimmed its PT slightly; this is an analyst reshuffle rather than a directional shock. Jefferies updates forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation probe — Law firm Kirby McInerney has opened an investigation into potential securities claims involving Elevance and/or its senior management; legal scrutiny can pressure the stock and raise uncertainty. Kirby McInerney investor alert
• Negative Sentiment: Some broker nuance implies limited near-term upside — Robert W. Baird's update leaves a neutral stance with a lower relative target vs. some peers, noting limited immediate upside which can cap buying interest. Baird adjusts PT

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of ELV opened at $344.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $273.71 and a 1 year high of $427.54.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.74 by $1.84. The business had revenue of $49.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.21 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 2.62%.Elevance Health's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.97 earnings per share. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.850- EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 26.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.26%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ELV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.