River Road Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,557 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,216 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC's holdings in Elevance Health were worth $42,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $184,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 193,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,082,000. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $959,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV traded down $3.61 on Wednesday, hitting $418.43. 1,099,027 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,636,823. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $392.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $431.56. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

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Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a positive change from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ELV. Truist Financial cut their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health 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.