Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price Up 1.9%

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s share price rose 1.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $320.97 and last traded at $320.27. Approximately 363,475 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,977,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $314.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Humana in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stephens lowered their price target on Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Humana from $415.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TheStreet cut Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $424.50.

Humana Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $325.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $390.72. The stock has a market cap of $38.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.50.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The firm had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.38 EPS. Humana’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $992,938,000 after purchasing an additional 119,760 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Humana by 35.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,523,835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $741,409,000 after acquiring an additional 402,559 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $676,800,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Humana by 5.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,327,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $645,850,000 after acquiring an additional 64,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $489,300,000. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.