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

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shares shot up 0.9% 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 changed hands during 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 issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HUM shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target (down previously from $530.00) on shares of Humana in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eleven 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $465.42.

Humana Trading Up 0.4 %

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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $343.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $425.01. The firm has a market cap of $39.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Humana news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at $946,358.02. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in Humana by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Humana by 2.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in Humana by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,292 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,247,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in Humana by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.