Global Endowment Management LP Increases Stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Global Endowment Management LP boosted its position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Global Endowment Management LP’s holdings in Humana were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,254,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,857 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Humana by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,198,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,587,345,000 after buying an additional 5,264,045 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Humana by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,736,000 after buying an additional 1,103,132 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Humana by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,883,614 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $729,658,000 after buying an additional 63,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Humana by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,397,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $608,348,000 after acquiring an additional 550,692 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HUM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $326.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Humana from $305.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Humana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.90.

Humana Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Humana stock opened at $285.48 on Thursday. Humana Inc. has a one year low of $213.31 and a one year high of $406.46. The company has a market cap of $34.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $265.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.33.

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

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.58%.

About Humana

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.