Elevance Health Rises 0.1% as Institutional Buys and High-Liquidity Strategy Push $940M Volume to 93rd Rank

Elevance Health (ELV) closed on August 4 with a 0.10% gain, trading at $274.93 per share. The stock ranked 93rd in trading volume for the day, with $940 million in total shares exchanged. Institutional activity has been a notable driver, as PNC Financial Services Group increased its stake by 2.3% in Q1, while Bank of Nova Scotia more than doubled its holdings in Q4. CEO Gail Boudreaux added 8,500 shares, reflecting management confidence.

Analysts have adjusted price targets amid mixed guidance. JPMorgan reduced its objective to $384 from $472, while Mizuho raised its target to $505. Despite a 13.6% drop in adjusted EPS year-over-year, the company reported $49.4 billion in quarterly revenue, exceeding estimates by $1.16 billion. A $1.71 quarterly dividend, yielding 2.49%, was announced, maintaining a payout ratio of 29.11%.

Backtesting results for a high-volume liquidity strategy showed a 166.71% return from 2022 to present, outperforming the benchmark by 137.53%. This highlights the impact of liquidity concentration on short-term performance, particularly in volatile markets. The strategy’s success underscores the influence of institutional and algorithmic trading on price movements in liquid assets like ELV.