Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Increases Holdings in Humana Inc. $HUM

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 661.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,038,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 902,340 shares during the period. Humana comprises about 14.9% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Humana were worth $253,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HUM. OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its stake in Humana by 40.3% in the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 390 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Humana by 33.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,453 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC boosted its stake in Humana by 17.4% in the second quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 27,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,601,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Humana by 8.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Humana by 30.8% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 172,161 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,815,000 after purchasing an additional 40,492 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Humana from $300.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Humana from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Humana in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $295.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Humana from $283.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Humana from $315.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.83.

Humana Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of HUM opened at $280.24 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Humana Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.87 and a 12-month high of $315.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.04.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.32 by ($0.05). Humana had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $32.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Humana has set its FY 2025 guidance at 17.000- EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 26th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.17%.

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.