Humana (NYSE:HUM) Trading Down 4.7%

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s stock price traded down 4.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $311.58 and last traded at $312.63. 1,250,091 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 1,976,503 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus downgraded shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $391.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Humana in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Humana has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.63.

Humana Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $398.38. The firm has a market cap of $38.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Humana

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Humana by 6.2% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Humana by 35.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Humana in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $676,800,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Humana by 5.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in Humana in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $489,300,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.