Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 485 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Humana by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $915,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,132 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Humana by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,073,387,000 after buying an additional 643,291 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Humana by 735.9% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 219,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,563,000 after buying an additional 192,801 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Humana in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,102,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Humana by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 391,657 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $124,053,000 after acquiring an additional 115,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HUM shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.68.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of HUM opened at $269.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.29. The stock has a market cap of $32.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57. Humana Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.31 and a 1-year high of $406.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.