Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases New Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 59,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,207,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,132 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 435.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,098,702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,236,000 after purchasing an additional 893,637 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,073,387,000 after purchasing an additional 643,291 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 735.9% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 219,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,563,000 after purchasing an additional 192,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,102,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Humana Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HUM opened at $267.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.21. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.31 and a 12-month high of $406.46.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. As a group, analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $283.00 price target on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% 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.