Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Holdings Lifted by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 618 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In other Humana news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Humana Stock Down 0.1 %

HUM stock opened at $320.60 on Friday. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $298.61 and a 12-month high of $541.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $38.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $324.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $389.56.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.12 by $1.11. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. Humana’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Humana from $415.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $334.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $424.50.

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.