Simplify Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 67.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,762 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,526 shares during the quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $4,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 656,344 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 85,533.1% during the 3rd 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 grew its stake in Elevance Health by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,698,000 after buying an additional 523,910 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,389,000. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $173,753,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ELV. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price target (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $539.20.

Elevance Health Trading Down 1.2 %

ELV stock traded down $4.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $402.14. The stock had a trading volume of 431,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,043. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $397.98 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $93.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.55.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 23.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.