Virtue Capital Management LLC Purchases 119 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 732 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. H&H Retirement Design & Management INC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. H&H Retirement Design & Management INC now owns 1,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 6,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in Elevance Health by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY bought a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $1,311,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $38,837,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $512.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $455.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $478.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,535 shares of company stock valued at $3,521,612. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Down 3.2%

Elevance Health stock opened at $372.33 on Tuesday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $357.45 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The stock has a market cap of $84.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $418.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $402.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $11.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.60 by $1.37. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The business had revenue of $48.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.26 billion. Research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.69%.

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.