Pullen Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Pullen Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,522 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Humana by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,198,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,587,345,000 after purchasing an additional 5,264,045 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Humana by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,254,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,857 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Humana during the fourth quarter worth about $416,202,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $915,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,132 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 435.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,098,702 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $279,236,000 after purchasing an additional 893,637 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HUM shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Humana from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Humana from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim started coverage on Humana in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $326.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Humana from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Humana from $305.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Humana presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $284.24.

Humana Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of HUM traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $234.87. 1,512,489 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,790,539. Humana Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.45 and a 1 year high of $406.46. The stock's 50 day moving average is $250.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.07 by $1.51. The firm had revenue of $32.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.02% and a return on equity of 11.70%. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Humana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.04%.

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.