Avanza Fonder AB Acquires Shares of 9,947 Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,947 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,524,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 244.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in Humana in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its position in shares of Humana by 81.8% in the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Humana in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company's stock.

Humana Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:HUM traded up $6.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $282.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,829,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,703. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $273.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.55.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.66 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 8,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on HUM. Barclays boosted their price objective on Humana from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Humana from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Humana from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $519.00 to $253.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Humana presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.70.

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.