Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Stock Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 391,657 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,820 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Humana were worth $124,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Humana by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,506,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $793,830,000 after purchasing an additional 187,903 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 16.1% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,311,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $863,640,000 after buying an additional 321,233 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 118.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,425,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $532,564,000 after buying an additional 774,085 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Humana by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,183,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $442,396,000 after acquiring an additional 24,842 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in Humana by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,173,535 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $371,705,000 after acquiring an additional 71,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Price Performance

HUM opened at $298.11 on Friday. Humana Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.31 and a twelve month high of $527.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $35.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $330.68.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. The company had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.66 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HUM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Humana in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Humana from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $392.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Humana from $380.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Humana presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.86.

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.