EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $1,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter valued at about $952,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Humana by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Humana by 195.2% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd now owns 10,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,001,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Humana Price Performance

HUM opened at $355.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $337.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $358.26. Humana Inc. has a 1 year low of $298.61 and a 1 year high of $530.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Humana from $342.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Humana from $415.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Humana from $415.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $423.63.

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.