Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,839 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,120 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $14,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 658,658 shares of the company's stock worth $242,979,000 after purchasing an additional 102,306 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in Elevance Health by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP now owns 48,998 shares of the company's stock worth $18,075,000 after purchasing an additional 10,105 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 723 shares of the company's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 101.4% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 53,686 shares of the company's stock worth $19,805,000 after purchasing an additional 27,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,535 shares of company stock valued at $3,521,612 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV traded up $13.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $403.20. 2,542,606 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,506,262. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $422.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $403.71. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $357.45 and a 52-week high of $567.26.

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

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $478.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $512.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W lowered shares of Elevance Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $518.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.38.

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.