Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Down 1.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shares traded down 1.1% on Friday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $415.00 to $353.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Humana traded as low as $307.00 and last traded at $308.01. 304,738 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,983,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $311.41.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $342.00 price target (down from $470.00) on shares of Humana in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Humana from $334.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Humana in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Eleven research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.74.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HUM. Mariner LLC raised its position in Humana by 2.3% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,869,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Humana by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,595,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Humana during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,865,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Humana by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 27,993 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,815,000 after acquiring an additional 8,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Humana by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 64,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,563,000 after acquiring an additional 5,672 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Humana Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $36.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $327.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $394.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.38 EPS. Humana’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors 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 1.16%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.04%.

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.