High Ground Investment Management LLP Purchases 140,640 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

High Ground Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 205.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,010 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 140,640 shares during the period. Elevance Health comprises approximately 23.9% of High Ground Investment Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. High Ground Investment Management LLP owned about 0.09% of Elevance Health worth $77,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Elevance Health by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,926,028,000 after buying an additional 138,380 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,687,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,557,759,000 after acquiring an additional 129,709 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,848,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,511,814,000 after acquiring an additional 85,770 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Elevance Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,320,024,000 after purchasing an additional 286,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,612 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ELV shares. Argus upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV opened at $431.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $403.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

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.