Humana (NYSE:HUM) Trading 0.9% Higher

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s share price shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $330.00 and last traded at $317.52. 1,683,413 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 1,699,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $314.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HUM. TheStreet downgraded shares of Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Humana in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Argus cut shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $507.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $465.42.

Humana Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $39.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $343.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.47 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 2.34%. Humana’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Insider Activity at Humana

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HUM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $676,800,000. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $489,300,000. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in Humana during the 1st quarter worth approximately $421,332,000. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 550.3% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 875,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $400,808,000 after acquiring an additional 740,858 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 255.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 620,793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $215,241,000 after acquiring an additional 446,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Company Profile

Humana Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides medical and specialty insurance products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Insurance and CenterWell. The company offers medical and supplemental benefit plans to individuals. It has a contract with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition prescription drug plan program; and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible, and long-term support services benefits.