Commerce Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Commerce Bank cut its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,952 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $70,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,880,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,431,559,000 after acquiring an additional 35,576 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 1,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. Ally Financial Inc. increased its position in Elevance Health by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Ally Financial Inc. now owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,427,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of 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 dropped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $514.41.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $424.44 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $416.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $411.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $362.21 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The company has a market cap of $96.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

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.