M&G Plc Increases Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

M&G Plc grew its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 473,088 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,774 shares during the period. Elevance Health comprises about 1.3% of M&G Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. M&G Plc owned about 0.20% of Elevance Health worth $246,006,000 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. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the second quarter worth about $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ELV. Argus downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 target price (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $428.93 on Thursday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $397.98 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $99.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $494.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $519.32.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). The business had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.99 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.77%.

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.