Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Shares Purchased by High Ground Investment Management LLP

High Ground Investment Management LLP raised its position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,297 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,080 shares during the period. Humana comprises approximately 36.2% of High Ground Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. High Ground Investment Management LLP owned 0.13% of Humana worth $73,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 60 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $595.00 to $360.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James began coverage on Humana in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $342.00 target price (down from $470.00) on shares of Humana in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $424.50.

Humana Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Humana stock traded up $6.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $320.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,654,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,994,260. The company has a market capitalization of $38.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $325.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $390.72. Humana Inc. has a 52 week low of $298.61 and a 52 week high of $541.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.12 by $1.11. The company had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued 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 1.10%. Humana’s payout ratio is presently 22.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.