South Dakota Investment Council Trims Stock Holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Humana makes up approximately 0.6% of South Dakota Investment Council’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Humana were worth $26,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HUM. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Humana by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 189 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management grew its position in Humana by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 7,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,631,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Humana by 71.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,912 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Humana by 103.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Humana by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $391.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $595.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens dropped their target price on Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Argus downgraded Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $454.63.

Humana Stock Up 0.8 %

HUM traded up $2.54 on Tuesday, reaching $327.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,613,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,984,984. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $329.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $398.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $39.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G 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.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.87). The business had revenue of $26.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.47 billion. Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 17.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% 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.