South Dakota Investment Council Purchases 16,939 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

South Dakota Investment Council grew its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 64.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,053 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,939 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $16,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Elevance Health by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,152,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,635,281,000 after buying an additional 666,534 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its position in Elevance Health by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,849,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,276,000 after acquiring an additional 680,228 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,676,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,164,041,000 after acquiring an additional 324,040 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,116,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,501,000 after purchasing an additional 24,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 1.5% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,943,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,394,000 after purchasing an additional 29,174 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $317.05 on Monday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $273.71 and a twelve month high of $458.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.59.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.03 by $1.00. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $50.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan D. Devore bought 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $312.15 per share, for a total transaction of $374,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,149.30. The trade was a 52.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ELV shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $342.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $360.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Elevance Health from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Truist Financial set a $400.00 target price on Elevance Health in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.44.

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.