Wellington Management Group LLP Boosts Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,355,532 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,893,947 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 2.80% of Elevance Health worth $2,344,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,135,014,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 47.6% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,828,000 after buying an additional 1,039,612 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 6,817.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 908,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $335,254,000 after buying an additional 895,658 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Elevance Health by 309.7% during 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 period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,875,850 shares of the company's stock worth $1,060,901,000 after acquiring an additional 437,103 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ELV. 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock traded down $24.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $428.62. The company had a trading volume of 4,515,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,908. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $418.26. The firm has a market cap of $97.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. On average, analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Elevance Health

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.