Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV Position Lifted by High Ground Investment Management LLP

Key Points

• High Ground Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Elevance Health by 9.4% during Q2, now holding 242,842 shares valued at approximately $94.5 million, making it the firm's third-largest investment.
• Elevance Health reported second-quarter earnings of $8.84 per share, missing estimates, but gauged significant revenue growth at $49.42 billion, compared to expectations of $48.26 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.1%, while maintaining a dividend payout ratio of 29.11%.

High Ground Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) by 9.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,842 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,812 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health makes up approximately 19.8% of High Ground Investment Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. High Ground Investment Management LLP owned approximately 0.11% of Elevance Health worth $94,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 152.0% in the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 1,340.0% in the 1st quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 72 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $323.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $302.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.44. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $273.71 and a fifty-two week high of $534.74.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.30 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $49.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.26 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.12 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health news, CEO Gail Boudreaux purchased 8,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $286.94 per share, with a total value of $2,438,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. This represents a 5.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,149.30. This trade represents a 52.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ELV. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $478.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $472.00 to $384.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $411.06.

Elevance Health Company 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.

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