Palo Alto Investors LP Acquires Shares of 3,985 Humana Inc. $HUM

Key Points

• Palo Alto Investors LP initiated a Humana stake of 3,985 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.38% of HUM, with several other firms also increasing or initiating positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but improving: Humana has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $403.91, while Piper Sandler, Leerink Partners and UBS issued bullish recommendations.
• Humana shares fell 1.5% to $386.92, despite the company beating quarterly earnings expectations with $7.61 EPS versus $7.27 forecast and reporting 26.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $40.89 billion.

Palo Alto Investors LP purchased a new stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,985 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,582,922.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humana in the second quarter worth approximately $1,412,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 250,330 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $66,207,000 after purchasing an additional 9,960 shares during the period. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Humana by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 24,757 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana during the second quarter valued at about $1,749,014,000. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Humana by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 111,803 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,636,000 after buying an additional 6,534 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on HUM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Humana in a report on Thursday, July 30th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Humana from $344.00 to $407.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upgraded Humana from a "hold" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $463.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Leerink Partners upgraded Humana from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $513.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Humana in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $403.91.

Humana Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of HUM stock traded down $5.71 on Friday, hitting $386.92. 746,547 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,729,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $385.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.46 billion, a PE ratio of 36.61, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.72. Humana Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.11 and a twelve month high of $428.88.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Humana had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 11.20%. The business had revenue of $40.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.27 EPS. The company's revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

About Humana

Humana Inc NYSE: HUM is a health insurance company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that primarily serves individuals and groups across the United States. The company is best known for its Medicare business, offering Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug (Part D) coverage, alongside a range of commercial and employer-sponsored group health plans. Humana's products are designed to cover medical, behavioral health and pharmacy needs for members, with particular emphasis on seniors and Medicare-eligible populations.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Humana provides care-management and wellness services intended to support chronic-condition management, preventive care and care coordination.