Humana (NYSE:HUM) Trading 1.9% Higher

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $320.97 and last traded at $320.27. 363,475 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,977,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $314.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HUM shares. Barclays dropped 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Humana from $334.00 to $326.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $391.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $415.00 to $353.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $424.50.

Humana Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $324.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $389.56. The company has a market capitalization of $38.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.50.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.12 by $1.11. The company had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.52 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. Humana's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Humana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.04%.

Insider Activity at Humana

In other Humana news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HUM. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 2.6% during the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN lifted its position in shares of Humana by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 343 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Humana by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Humana by 41.0% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Humana by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 2,273 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.