Covestor Ltd Increases Stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 101.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Humana were worth $174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Humana by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC raised its position in Humana by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 7,240 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 79,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,156,000 after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 4,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Humana by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 953 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $290.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market cap of $35.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.62. Humana Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.31 and a 1-year high of $406.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $265.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.77.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. Sell-side analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 35.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $326.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $283.00 price target on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Humana presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.25.

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.