Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Up 0.9% Following Dividend Announcement

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $331.00 and last traded at $326.39. 415,977 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,993,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $323.46.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $630.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Argus cut shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $595.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $465.42.

Humana Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $344.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $425.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUM. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Humana during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in Humana during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 60 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Humana during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. 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.