8,526 Shares of Humana Inc. $HUM Purchased by Vista Investment Partners LLC

Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,254,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Humana by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,202,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 180.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,420,000 after acquiring an additional 24,964 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Humana by 10.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,879,000 after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HUM. UBS Group began coverage on Humana in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Humana from $246.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Humana from $316.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Humana from $269.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $422.52.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM traded down $12.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $383.68. 1,196,156 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,642,109. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $386.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.34. The firm has a market cap of $46.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.74. Humana Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.11 and a 52 week high of $428.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $7.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.27 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $40.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.58 billion. Humana had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 11.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.8850 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is 33.49%.

About Humana

Humana Inc is a health and well-being company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1961, the company began as a nursing home operator before expanding into hospitals and health insurance. Today, Humana primarily provides health insurance products and healthcare services for older adults, individuals, military families and other members in the United States.

Humana’s insurance business offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and prescription drug plans, as well as Medicaid coverage in select markets.