Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Raises Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,875,850 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 437,103 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health comprises about 1.6% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 1.24% of Elevance Health worth $1,060,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 24.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth $90,000. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 6.3% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stephens downgraded Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $430.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $97.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $402.56 and a 200 day moving average of $422.85. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $362.21 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.