Waycross Partners LLC Acquires 4,768 Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Waycross Partners LLC raised its holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,768 shares during the quarter. Humana comprises approximately 2.6% of Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $13,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Humana by 2.6% in the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in Humana by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Humana by 4.1% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in Humana by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its stake in Humana by 41.0% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HUM shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $424.50.

Humana Stock Performance

Humana stock traded down $1.06 on Tuesday, hitting $302.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,565,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,990,495. The firm has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $325.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $392.00. Humana Inc. has a one year low of $299.23 and a one year high of $541.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of Humana stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.