The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 159,742 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,091,969 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,742 shares during the period. Elevance Health comprises 1.0% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $1,087,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 51,967.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 657,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,956,000 after purchasing an additional 656,344 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 85,533.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,972,000 after buying an additional 532,016 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Elevance Health by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,698,000 after acquiring an additional 523,910 shares during the period. Maj Invest Holding A S purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $173,753,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,058,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,115,301,000 after acquiring an additional 275,708 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ELV. Argus lowered Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective (down from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $539.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Up 1.3 %

ELV opened at $407.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $94.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.85. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $391.02 and a one year high of $567.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $457.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $507.92.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 EPS 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 business had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.99 earnings per share. Elevance Health’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.77%.

Elevance Health 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.