Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Stock Holdings Lessened by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,272 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.15% of Humana worth $85,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Humana in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Humana by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 60 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of Humana in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nvwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Humana by 41.0% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective (down previously from $530.00) on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Humana presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Performance

HUM traded up $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $326.07. 502,904 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,696. Humana Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $299.23 and a fifty-two week high of $541.21. 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 50 day moving average price of $330.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.70. The company has a market capitalization of $39.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.87). Humana had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.86%.

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.