Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,751,857 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.65% of Humana worth $3,254,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HUM. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,629,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Humana by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 86,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,937,000 after purchasing an additional 12,142 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Humana by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,655 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Humana by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 11,412 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,895,000 after purchasing an additional 3,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Humana by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. The trade was a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Humana Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:HUM opened at $273.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57. Humana Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.31 and a 52-week high of $406.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $270.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a net margin of 1.02% and a return on equity of 11.70%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.58%.

Humana 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.