Humana Inc. $HUM Stock: Howard Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management cut its Humana stake by 92.9% in the third quarter, selling 10,355 shares and retaining 792 shares valued at approximately $302,000.
• Institutional investors own 92.38% of Humana, while several major firms—including BlackRock and Pzena Investment Management—established sizable positions during the second quarter.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $453.30. Humana also exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.61 in EPS versus the $7.27 consensus estimate.

Howard Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) by 92.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 792 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 10,355 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management LLC's holdings in Humana were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HUM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Humana during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,138,160,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana during the second quarter worth approximately $1,749,014,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Humana by 20,126.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,255,479 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $479,053,000 after buying an additional 1,249,272 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Humana in the second quarter valued at approximately $329,760,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in Humana in the second quarter valued at approximately $314,922,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HUM. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Monday, August 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Humana from a "hold" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $463.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore raised Humana from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $480.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $596.00 price target on Humana and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Humana from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $453.30.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of HUM stock opened at $412.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $394.10 and a 200-day moving average of $342.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Humana Inc. has a one year low of $163.11 and a one year high of $456.50.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $7.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.27 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $40.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.58 billion. Humana had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 11.20%. Humana's quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 9.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.8850 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Humana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.49%.

Humana Company Profile

Humana Inc is a health and well-being company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1961, the company began as a nursing home operator before expanding into hospitals and health insurance. Today, Humana primarily provides health insurance products and healthcare services for older adults, individuals, military families and other members in the United States.

Humana's insurance business offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and prescription drug plans, as well as Medicaid coverage in select markets.

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