Argent Trust Co Has $4.34 Million Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Argent Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,774 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $4,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ELV. Paralel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 4,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 14,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,981 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,146,000. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in Elevance Health by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 24,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.71.

Elevance Health Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ELV traded up $5.95 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $441.63. The stock had a trading volume of 124,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,432,050. The company has a market cap of $99.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $411.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $414.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Equities research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.