Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Up 0.9% Following Dividend Announcement

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shares shot up 0.9% on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $331.00 and last traded at $326.39. 415,977 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,993,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $323.46.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on HUM. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Humana from $507.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho cut their price target on Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $465.42.

Humana Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $344.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $425.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $26.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Humana during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Humana by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 60 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% 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.