Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,069 Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $2,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. FMR LLC lifted its position in Humana by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,073,387,000 after acquiring an additional 643,291 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Humana by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 600,317 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $190,145,000 after buying an additional 214,535 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Humana by 735.9% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 219,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,563,000 after buying an additional 192,801 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Humana by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,506,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $793,830,000 after buying an additional 187,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Humana in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,102,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Humana Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of HUM opened at $255.77 on Friday. Humana Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.31 and a 52 week high of $406.46. The firm has a market cap of $30.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76.

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

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Humana from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $308.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Nineteen 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.com, Humana presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. The trade was a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.