Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. reduced its position in Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,392 shares of the company's stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Anthem were worth $5,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ANTM. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Anthem during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Anthem during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Athena Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Anthem during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Anthem during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Anthem during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.16% of the company's stock.
Shares of ANTM traded down $5.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $295.78. The stock had a trading volume of 14,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,627. Anthem Inc has a 1 year low of $215.52 and a 1 year high of $317.99. The company has a market cap of $77.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.
Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 30th. The company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $23.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.27 billion. Anthem had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Anthem Inc will post 19.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 15th. This is an increase from Anthem's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Anthem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.
In related news, EVP Peter D. Haytaian sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.31, for a total value of $768,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,817,819.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gloria M. Mccarthy sold 7,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.73, for a total transaction of $2,339,024.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,601 shares of company stock worth $7,631,276 in the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
A number of research firms recently issued reports on ANTM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $346.00 price target (up previously from $318.00) on shares of Anthem in a research note on Thursday, January 31st. ValuEngine raised shares of Anthem from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 30th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Anthem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Anthem in a research note on Monday, December 3rd. Finally, SunTrust Banks increased their target price on shares of Anthem to $340.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $332.07.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: This report was reported by Dakota Financial News and is the sole property of of Dakota Financial News. If you are reading this report on another website, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of US & international trademark and copyright laws. The original version of this report can be accessed at https://dakotafinancialnews.com/2019/03/25/anthem-inc-antm-holdings-decreased-by-lowe-brockenbrough-co-inc.html.