Howard Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,091 Shares of Humana Inc. $HUM

Howard Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,091 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Humana were worth $1,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Humana in the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 3.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,608 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Humana in the 1st quarter worth $289,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Humana by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 23,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,285,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Humana by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Humana Trading Up 0.9%

Humana stock opened at $295.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.87. Humana Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.87 and a 12 month high of $315.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $32.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.85 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HUM. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho raised their target price on Humana from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Humana from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Humana from $315.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Humana from $269.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.58.

Humana 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.