Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 1,113 Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,875 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $4,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HUM. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Humana by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the third quarter worth $424,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Humana by 19.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,663,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Humana by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,552 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Humana by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 8,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HUM. Barclays increased their price target on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Humana presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $249.32 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $271.59 and its 200-day moving average is $281.42. Humana Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.31 and a twelve month high of $406.46. 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 market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.58%.

Humana 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.