Washington Trust Bank Has $10.87 Million Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Washington Trust Bank increased its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,472 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $10,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction 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 $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stephens cut Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, 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. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.81.

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $427.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $97.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $400.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS 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%. Analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.