Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 14,778 Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 83.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,778 shares during the quarter. Humana makes up about 1.0% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Humana were worth $14,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Humana by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in Humana by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,446,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter worth $4,573,000. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Humana in the 4th quarter valued at $165,000. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other Humana news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Argus lowered shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Humana from $415.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $391.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.74.

Humana Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HUM traded down $3.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $307.89. 638,160 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,987,464. The firm has a market cap of $37.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.45. Humana Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $299.23 and a fifty-two week high of $541.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $395.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Humana Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.04%.

Humana Company 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.