LPL Financial LLC Purchases 13,619 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 188,074 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,619 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $97,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This represents a 46.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV opened at $402.55 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $460.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $509.01. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $391.02 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $93.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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 the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.20.

Elevance Health Profile

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.