Private Advisor Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 436 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Leuthold Group LLC lifted its position in Humana by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 18,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,412,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,259,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 93.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 131,371 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $61,757,000 after purchasing an additional 63,545 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Humana from $334.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James assumed coverage on Humana in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $424.50.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HUM opened at $339.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $322.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $381.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Humana Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $298.61 and a fifty-two week high of $530.54.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. The company had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Humana’s payout ratio is 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.