Plato Investment Management Ltd Reduces Holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Plato Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Humana were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 244.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Humana by 11.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in Humana during the third quarter worth about $424,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Humana by 44.7% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after acquiring an additional 3,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Humana by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,780 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Humana Stock Up 0.8 %

Humana stock opened at $263.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $271.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.08. Humana Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.31 and a 1-year high of $406.46.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Humana’s payout ratio is 35.58%.

Insider Activity at Humana

In other Humana 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 owns 8,181 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HUM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, January 15th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.68.

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.