Hickory Asset Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 51,967.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 657,607 shares of the company's stock worth $341,956,000 after purchasing an additional 656,344 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 309.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 713,027 shares of the company's stock worth $370,794,000 after buying an additional 538,978 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 85,533.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company's stock worth $276,972,000 after acquiring an additional 532,016 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 16.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,258 shares of the company's stock worth $1,246,574,000 after acquiring an additional 334,552 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Elevance Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,320,024,000 after acquiring an additional 286,905 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens cut Elevance Health from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $517.03.

Elevance Health Stock Up 2.5 %

ELV traded up $9.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $391.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,123,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,627,207. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $445.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $90.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.83.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. On average, research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 34 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health's payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

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.