Kovack Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 9.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 486 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ELV. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 176.3% in the third quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 4,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 203,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,582,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction 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 $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 46.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.5 %

ELV opened at $400.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $397.98 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $478.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $514.55. The stock has a market cap of $92.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.85.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James set a $485.00 price objective on Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.