Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Down 4.7%

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s share price was down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $311.58 and last traded at $312.63. Approximately 1,250,091 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,976,503 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HUM shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America reissued 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $391.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.74.

Humana Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $328.56 and its 200-day moving average is $395.71. The company has a market cap of $37.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.45.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued 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 1.14%. Humana’s payout ratio is 22.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Humana

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter worth about $676,800,000. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana in the fourth quarter worth about $489,300,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 550.3% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 875,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $400,808,000 after buying an additional 740,858 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 255.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 620,793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $215,241,000 after buying an additional 446,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 402,559 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.