Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 268,481 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,168 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Elevance Health worth $99,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,049 shares during the period. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 39,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,360,000 after buying an additional 3,786 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 85,533.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,972,000 after buying an additional 532,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 1,711.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 53,559 shares of the company's stock worth $27,858,000 after buying an additional 50,603 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of ELV stock traded down $5.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $385.04. 1,736,819 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,621,539. The firm has a market cap of $89.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50 day moving average is $385.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $445.29. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $362.21 and a 1 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 34 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens lowered shares of Elevance Health from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $405.40 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.