Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,295 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $9,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ELV. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark Kaye sold 4,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.82, for a total value of $1,949,074.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,809.14. This trade represents a 19.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,535 shares of company stock worth $3,521,612 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $529.00 target price (down from $625.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on Elevance Health from $455.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus set a $465.00 target price on Elevance Health in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Elevance Health from $512.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.38.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV traded up $8.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $412.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,221,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,510,736. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $357.45 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $422.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $403.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.69%.

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.