Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 31,663 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,956 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,663 shares during the period. Elevance Health accounts for 0.4% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Elevance Health worth $57,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,344,424,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,426,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,032,283,000 after buying an additional 137,914 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 12.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,213,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,563,142,000 after buying an additional 984,976 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.4% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,188,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,619,701,000 after buying an additional 55,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter worth about $1,246,349,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ELV. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $473.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $364.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $451.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $456.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Kaye sold 10,584 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.13, for a total value of $4,658,335.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,919 shares in the company, valued at $8,766,949.47. The trade was a 34.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ratnakar Lavu sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.00, for a total value of $572,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,533,560. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $430.28 on Thursday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.84 and a fifty-two week high of $450.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $92.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $414.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $374.40.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $6.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.71 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $50.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.28 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 2.55%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 29.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $1.72 dividend. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.34%.

Elevance Health Profile

Elevance Health, Inc. is a U.S. health benefits and services company. Formerly known as Anthem, Inc., it adopted the Elevance Health name in 2022 while retaining the Anthem brand for many of its health plans. The company offers medical, pharmacy, dental, vision and behavioral health coverage, including plans for individuals and employers as well as programs serving Medicare and Medicaid members. Its services also include care management, pharmacy benefit services and other health-related capabilities through its Carelon business.