Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Holdings Cut by Strategic Blueprint LLC

Strategic Blueprint LLC decreased its stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Humana by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,709 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,484,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 29,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,971,000 after purchasing an additional 5,964 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HUM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $595.00 to $360.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $342.00 target price (down from $470.00) on shares of Humana in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $465.42.

Humana Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of HUM stock opened at $319.17 on Thursday. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $299.23 and a 12-month high of $541.21. The company has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $349.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $431.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.87). Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

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.