South Dakota Investment Council Raises Stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

South Dakota Investment Council raised its position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,317 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,719 shares during the quarter. Humana accounts for about 0.8% of South Dakota Investment Council’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.13% of Humana worth $38,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,357,420 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,701,582,000 after buying an additional 53,272 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 23.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,073,387,000 after buying an additional 643,291 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 8.1% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,506,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $793,830,000 after buying an additional 187,903 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 6.5% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,173,535 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $371,705,000 after buying an additional 71,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 1.0% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 1,168,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $370,060,000 after buying an additional 11,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HUM. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Down 5.7 %

NYSE:HUM opened at $255.77 on Friday. Humana Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.31 and a 1-year high of $406.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $269.41 and a 200 day moving average of $290.00. The firm has a market cap of $30.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

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

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Humana’s payout ratio is 35.58%.

Humana 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.