Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $3,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HUM. First Financial Corp IN boosted its holdings in Humana by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Humana by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 2,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Walker Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Humana by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Walker Financial Services Inc. now owns 795 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HUM shares. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Humana in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $374.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Humana from $415.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Humana from $334.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $423.63.

Humana Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of HUM opened at $349.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $338.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $356.83. Humana Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $298.61 and a fifty-two week high of $530.54.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.12 by $1.11. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.38 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.07 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Humana’s payout ratio is 22.04%.

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.