DGS Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 681 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 60 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Nvwm LLC increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 41.0% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the third quarter valued at about $56,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HUM shares. Raymond James started coverage on Humana in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (down from $530.00) on shares of Humana in a report on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $342.00 target price (down from $470.00) on shares of Humana in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $465.42.

Humana Price Performance

HUM stock opened at $317.42 on Wednesday. Humana Inc. has a 52-week low of $299.23 and a 52-week high of $541.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $345.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $426.43. The stock has a market cap of $38.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.45.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.87). Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $26.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Humana’s payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.