Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $301.00 to $285.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Humana from $253.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Humana has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $293.05.

Humana Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HUM traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $253.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,386,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,752. Humana has a 1 year low of $213.31 and a 1 year high of $406.46. The firm has a market cap of $30.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.56. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $271.27 and its 200 day moving average is $294.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. As a group, analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Humana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of Humana by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,198,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,587,345,000 after acquiring an additional 5,264,045 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Humana by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,254,899,000 after buying an additional 1,751,857 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Humana in the 4th quarter valued at $416,202,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Humana by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $915,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,132 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Humana by 435.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,098,702 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $279,236,000 after acquiring an additional 893,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company's stock.

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.