Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Invests $31,000 in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 99 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Humana by 17.0% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Humana by 10.5% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in Humana by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 4,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Humana Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of HUM opened at $282.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $284.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $332.14. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.52. Humana Inc. has a one year low of $213.31 and a one year high of $527.18.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.66 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $519.00 to $253.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Humana from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Humana presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.86.

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.