Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 457,232 Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) by 40.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 663,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 457,232 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.55% of Humana worth $168,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,254,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,857 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its position in Humana by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,198,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,587,345,000 after buying an additional 5,264,045 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Humana by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $915,736,000 after buying an additional 1,103,132 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Humana by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,883,614 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $729,658,000 after purchasing an additional 63,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Humana by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,397,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $608,348,000 after purchasing an additional 550,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Humana from $305.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James raised shares of Humana from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $286.81.

Humana Stock Performance

HUM traded up $9.20 on Monday, reaching $247.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,094,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,619. Humana Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.45 and a fifty-two week high of $406.46. The stock has a market cap of $29.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day moving average is $262.94 and its 200 day moving average is $269.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $11.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.07 by $1.51. The business 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 for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.23 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Humana's payout ratio is 25.04%.

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.