Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $4.61 Million Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 921 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $4,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 57.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Tobam increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $430.87 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $398.56 and a 200-day moving average of $427.12. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $362.21 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.