Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) by 18.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 936,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 206,516 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.78% of Humana worth $296,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HUM. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Humana by 244.0% during 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 during the period. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Humana by 111.4% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 74 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Humana during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP raised its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Humana Stock Performance

Humana stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $274.12. 1,383,466 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,841,710. Humana Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.31 and a fifty-two week high of $486.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $274.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $33.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.53.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $29.30 billion during 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Humana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on HUM. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Humana from $400.00 to $260.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Humana from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Humana from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $519.00 to $253.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.15.

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.