National Pension Service Decreases Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

National Pension Service cut its position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 192,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 144,141 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Humana were worth $48,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HUM. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Humana by 244.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Humana in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in Humana by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Humana Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $261.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $270.64 and a 200 day moving average of $287.87. The company has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.31 and a 12-month high of $406.46.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. The trade was a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on HUM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Humana from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $308.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.68.

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.