South Dakota Investment Council Sells 1,200 Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Humana makes up 0.6% of South Dakota Investment Council’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Humana were worth $26,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Humana by 6.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $992,938,000 after buying an additional 119,760 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Humana by 35.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,523,835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $741,409,000 after buying an additional 402,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Humana by 5.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,327,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $645,850,000 after buying an additional 64,245 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Humana by 1.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 965,488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $469,729,000 after buying an additional 13,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Humana by 39.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 681,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $331,743,000 after buying an additional 192,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Humana news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Humana Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HUM traded up $2.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $327.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,613,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,984,984. The stock has a market cap of $39.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45. Humana Inc. has a one year low of $299.23 and a one year high of $541.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $398.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $26.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. Humana’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s payout ratio is 17.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Argus cut Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays cut their target price on Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price (down previously from $530.00) on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $454.63.

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.