Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Shares Sold by Scott & Selber Inc.

Scott & Selber Inc. decreased its position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $1,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HUM. Mariner LLC raised its position in Humana by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,869,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,595,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humana in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,865,000. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 27,993 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,815,000 after acquiring an additional 8,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 64,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,563,000 after acquiring an additional 5,672 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Humana news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Humana Price Performance

HUM stock traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $325.30. 1,562,868 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,984,916. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $330.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $400.22. The stock has a market cap of $39.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45. Humana Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $299.23 and a fifty-two week high of $541.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released 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 company had revenue of $26.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HUM. StockNews.com downgraded Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $391.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (down previously from $530.00) on shares of Humana in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.63.

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.