Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,456 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,864 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $23,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV traded down $5.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $385.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,736,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,621,539. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month high of $567.26. 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 cap of $89.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $385.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $445.29.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ELV. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $517.03.

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.