Humana (NYSE:HUM) Trading 1.4% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $329.71 and last traded at $329.33. 230,094 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,985,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.83.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Humana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HUM. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Humana in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $630.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $465.42.

Humana Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The company's 50-day moving average is $330.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $400.99.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.87). Humana had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $26.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Humana by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,708,167 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,776,072,000 after acquiring an additional 25,832 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Humana by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,234,477 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,082,060,000 after acquiring an additional 16,692 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Humana by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $992,938,000 after acquiring an additional 119,760 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 35.9% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter valued at $676,800,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company's stock.

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.