Humana (NYSE:HUM) Price Target Lowered to $353.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price target cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $415.00 to $353.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on HUM. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Humana from $391.00 to $360.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Raymond James assumed coverage on Humana in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Argus cut Humana from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Humana from $415.00 to $370.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $433.74.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM traded down $3.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $308.28. 646,595 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,987,464. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $328.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $395.71. The firm has a market cap of $37.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.59. Humana has a 52 week low of $299.23 and a 52 week high of $541.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The company had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Humana will post 16.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Humana by 6.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $992,938,000 after purchasing an additional 119,760 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Humana by 35.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,523,835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $741,409,000 after buying an additional 402,559 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Humana in the fourth quarter valued at about $676,800,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Humana by 5.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,327,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $645,850,000 after buying an additional 64,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Humana in the fourth quarter valued at about $489,300,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

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.