Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Takes Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,420 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in 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. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Humana during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Humana during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Humana during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its holdings in Humana by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Humana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Humana from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $308.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.68.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of HUM stock opened at $270.91 on Friday. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.31 and a 12-month high of $406.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $271.11 and a 200-day moving average of $286.85.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a net margin of 1.02% and a return on equity of 11.70%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.