Bailard Inc. Has $2.59 Million Stock Position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Bailard Inc. trimmed its stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $2,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC increased its position in Humana by 2.3% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,869,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Humana by 27.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,595,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Silverarc Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Humana in the third quarter valued at about $4,865,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Humana by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 27,993 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,815,000 after acquiring an additional 8,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Humana by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 64,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,563,000 after purchasing an additional 5,672 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on HUM. Stephens reduced their target price on Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Humana in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Humana has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.74.

Insider Activity at Humana

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Humana Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HUM traded down $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $309.05. 223,545 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,982,149. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $328.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $395.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.45. Humana Inc. has a one year low of $299.23 and a one year high of $541.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s payout ratio is 22.04%.

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.