Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 879 Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Humana were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Humana by 244.0% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of Humana during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humana in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 81.8% in the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 1,021.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on HUM. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Humana from $288.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $293.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $273.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.88. The company has a market cap of $35.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Humana Inc. has a one year low of $213.31 and a one year high of $411.80.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. Analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Company Profile

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.