Clarius Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Clarius Group LLC boosted its position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Humana by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,630 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,021 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Humana by 10.8% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,763 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 286.2% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after buying an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Humana by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 72,584 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,119,000 after buying an additional 10,687 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in Humana by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of Humana stock opened at $282.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $273.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.31 and a 12-month high of $415.73.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.66 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s payout ratio is 31.36%.

Insider Activity at Humana

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm’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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HUM shares. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $519.00 to $253.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $380.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.70.

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.