Bridgewater Associates LP Boosts Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 49.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,049 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,463 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $32,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELV has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Argus downgraded Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 price objective (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Elevance Health Price Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $401.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $454.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $506.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $93.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.85. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $391.02 and a 1 year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 23.77%.

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.