Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 240,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,882,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in Elevance Health by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at $469,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Elevance Health by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,310,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Elevance Health by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Elevance Health by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV opened at $409.59 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $390.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $433.36. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $93.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ELV. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $517.03.

Elevance Health Company 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.