Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Shares Acquired by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 618 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HUM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Humana by 35.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,523,835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $741,409,000 after buying an additional 402,559 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Humana by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 681,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $331,743,000 after purchasing an additional 192,546 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in Humana by 814.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 181,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $88,448,000 after purchasing an additional 161,909 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Humana by 2,659.2% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 152,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,369,000 after purchasing an additional 147,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Humana by 32,648.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 134,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $61,619,000 after purchasing an additional 134,185 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HUM opened at $320.60 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $324.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $389.56. Humana Inc. has a 1-year low of $298.61 and a 1-year high of $541.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $38.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.49.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.18 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 22.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HUM. Stephens lowered their target price on Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet cut Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Humana from $334.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $424.50.

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.