Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 170,636 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,961 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Humana worth $54,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Humana by 2.5% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Humana by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in Humana by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,613 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP lifted its position in shares of Humana by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Price Performance

NYSE HUM opened at $247.10 on Monday. Humana Inc. has a one year low of $213.31 and a one year high of $475.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $273.79 and a 200 day moving average of $320.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $29.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.53.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Humana’s payout ratio is 31.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Humana in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Leerink Partners cut Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.50.

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.