Humana Inc. $HUM Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,508 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,501 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $3,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humana in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Humana during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Humana in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Humana by 63.4% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Humana in the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HUM shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Humana in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Humana from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Humana from $269.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Humana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $253.00 to $313.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Humana from $283.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Humana currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.84.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of HUM stock opened at $256.29 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $262.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.02. Humana Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.87 and a 1 year high of $315.35. The firm has a market cap of $30.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.46.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $32.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.99 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 1.02%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.16 EPS. Analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.18%.

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.