Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Sold by Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 120,160 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,044 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health makes up about 2.2% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. owned 0.05% of Elevance Health worth $44,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the company's stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,286 shares of the company's stock worth $18,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,049 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 1,711.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 53,559 shares of the company's stock worth $27,858,000 after acquiring an additional 50,603 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Elevance Health by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Finally, JB Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 597.2% in the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 9,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 8,038 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV traded up $6.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $403.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,393,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,604,667. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $436.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 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 represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health's payout ratio is 26.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ELV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $405.40 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens cut shares of Elevance Health from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $517.03.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.35% 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.