Norges Bank Acquires New Shares in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,640,462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $416,202,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.36% of Humana at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HUM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Humana by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,254,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,857 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $915,736,000 after buying an additional 1,103,132 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 435.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,098,702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $279,236,000 after buying an additional 893,637 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Humana by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 673,715 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $170,928,000 after acquiring an additional 306,433 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Humana by 735.9% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 219,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,563,000 after acquiring an additional 192,801 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Humana Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE HUM opened at $263.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $270.14 and a 200-day moving average of $274.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Humana Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.31 and a 1-year high of $406.46. The firm has a market cap of $31.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.68.

Insider Transactions at Humana

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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.