Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 168,220 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,212,839 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 168,220 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Elevance Health worth $617,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Private Ocean LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 348 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.5% in the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 679 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 3.9% in the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 4.2% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 615 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $520.00 price objective (down from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. Argus cut Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $539.20.

Elevance Health Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:ELV traded up $3.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $381.41. 1,921,092 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,221,416. The company has a market capitalization of $88.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $422.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $494.43. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $375.29 and a twelve month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The company's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,639,915.22. This represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% 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.