Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires 1,615 Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 589,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $149,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Humankind Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Humana by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Humana by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 32,593 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,269,000 after buying an additional 9,132 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Humana by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 8,641 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in Humana in the 4th quarter valued at about $451,000. Finally, Family Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Humana during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,134,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised Humana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Humana from $270.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.76.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of HUM stock opened at $249.67 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.31 and a 52 week high of $406.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $265.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.38. The company has a market capitalization of $30.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.49.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $11.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.07 by $1.51. The business had revenue of $32.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.02% and a return on equity of 11.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.04%.

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.