Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,072 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Humana were worth $9,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Humana by 244.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Humana during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its position in shares of Humana by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Humana Price Performance

HUM opened at $259.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $269.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.29. Humana Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.31 and a 1 year high of $406.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. Research analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 35.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HUM shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $283.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America upgraded Humana from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $308.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.68.

About Humana

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.