Finward Bancorp Takes Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Finward Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ELV. Tobam increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 434 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the company's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 6,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,355,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ELV. Baird R W downgraded Elevance Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus upgraded Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim started coverage on Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $518.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $514.41.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV stock traded down $10.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $424.44. 3,569,359 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,445,521. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $416.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.07. The company has a market cap of $96.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26. 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 (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%. Equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 1.61%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.