Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price Up 1.3%

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) traded up 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $317.23 and last traded at $316.70. 248,590 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 2,007,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $312.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on HUM. Argus lowered Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James began coverage on Humana in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $391.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $465.42.

Humana Trading Up 0.9 %

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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $345.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.43. The company has a market capitalization of $38.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.45.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Humana by 36.4% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Humana by 59.1% during the first quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 1,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Humana by 93.7% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,259 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Humana by 34.2% during the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Humana during the first quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

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.