California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 476,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,300 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Humana were worth $218,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Humana by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 60 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Nvwm LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of HUM traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $326.32. 271,495 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,969,263. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $330.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $399.70. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $299.23 and a 12-month high of $541.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.87). Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HUM shares. StockNews.com cut Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Humana from $507.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $454.63.

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.