Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HUM. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Humana by 244.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 111.4% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 74 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its stake in shares of Humana by 81.8% in the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE HUM opened at $298.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $35.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.52. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.31 and a 12-month high of $527.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $276.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.68.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.66 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HUM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Leerink Partners cut shares of Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $315.86.

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.