Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price Up 3.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) was up 3.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $288.00 to $301.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Humana traded as high as $242.40 and last traded at $241.04. Approximately 1,641,389 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 1,861,497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.89.

Several other research firms have also commented on HUM. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Humana from $400.00 to $260.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $300.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Humana by 538.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,318,347 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $866,250,000 after buying an additional 1,955,375 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,425,302 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $532,564,000 after purchasing an additional 774,085 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 261,025.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,984 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,340,660,000 after purchasing an additional 738,701 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 23.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,073,387,000 after purchasing an additional 643,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA acquired a new position in Humana in the second quarter valued at $156,933,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company's stock.

Humana Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $274.32 and a 200 day moving average of $322.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana's payout ratio is currently 31.36%.

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.