Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price Down 4.7%

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) dropped 4.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $311.58 and last traded at $312.63. Approximately 1,250,091 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,976,503 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HUM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $342.00 price objective (down previously from $470.00) on shares of Humana in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $630.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, TheStreet lowered Humana from a "b" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $454.63.

Humana Stock Down 3.6 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $329.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $396.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 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.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Humana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of Humana stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Humana by 6.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $992,938,000 after buying an additional 119,760 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Humana by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,523,835 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $741,409,000 after acquiring an additional 402,559 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter valued at $676,800,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Humana by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,327,489 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $645,850,000 after acquiring an additional 64,245 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter valued at $489,300,000. 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.