New York Life Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

New York Life Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,290 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,905 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $8,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Humana by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 618 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Humana by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Waycross Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Humana by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 30,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,984,000 after acquiring an additional 4,768 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Humana by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of Humana stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUM has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $595.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Argus cut shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Humana from $391.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $424.50.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of HUM opened at $320.98 on Friday. Humana Inc. has a 12 month low of $298.61 and a 12 month high of $541.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $324.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $389.56. The company has a market cap of $38.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.49.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.