Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 4,117 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,684 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,117 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $21,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter worth $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $397.91 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $466.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $510.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $391.02 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The stock has a market cap of $92.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.85.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ELV shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $539.20.

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.