Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New $686,000 Investment in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Elevance Health during the second quarter worth about $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $402.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $391.02 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $460.70 and its 200 day moving average is $508.84. The company has a market cap of $93.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 23.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective (down from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Argus lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.