First National Bank of Hutchinson Sells 597 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

First National Bank of Hutchinson lessened its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 597 shares during the quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $430.87 on Thursday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $398.56 and its 200 day moving average is $427.12. The company has a market cap of $97.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ELV shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens downgraded Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.81.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This 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.