Islay Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,969 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Islay Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 1,550.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,096 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,926,028,000 after purchasing an additional 138,380 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,355,532 shares of the company's stock worth $2,344,556,000 after buying an additional 1,893,947 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,963,991 shares of the company's stock worth $1,826,447,000 after buying an additional 115,971 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,612 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $1,135,014,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of 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 company insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock traded down $3.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $432.56. 737,802 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,434,218. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $362.21 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The stock's fifty day moving average is $411.57 and its 200 day moving average is $414.52. The stock has a market cap of $97.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health's payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on ELV shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $455.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price 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 reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens downgraded Elevance Health from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $518.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.71.

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.