JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Humana (NYSE:HUM) Price Target to $256.00

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $256.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.68.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of HUM stock opened at $271.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Humana has a twelve month low of $213.31 and a twelve month high of $406.46. The company has a market cap of $32.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.15.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 35.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Humana by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its position in shares of Humana by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 6,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Humana by 2.5% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Humana by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 236 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Humana by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 208 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.