PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd Boosts Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd grew its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,406 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health makes up 1.4% of PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $4,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,926,028,000 after buying an additional 138,380 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Elevance Health by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,687,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,557,759,000 after purchasing an additional 129,709 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,848,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,511,814,000 after purchasing an additional 85,770 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,320,024,000 after purchasing an additional 286,905 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,828,000 after buying an additional 1,039,612 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of ELV opened at $431.84 on Friday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $362.21 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $404.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $422.13.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ELV shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.81.

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.