William Blair Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Humana Inc. $HUM

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) by 256.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,495 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,684 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Humana were worth $10,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Humana in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Humana during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Humana in the second quarter worth $39,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Humana by 47.5% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Humana by 19,300.0% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 194 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HUM shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Humana from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Humana from $260.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Humana from $280.00 to $264.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on Humana from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sanjay K. Shetty purchased 810 shares of Humana stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $185.21 per share, for a total transaction of $150,020.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 11,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,158,992.97. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Performance

Humana stock opened at $181.45 on Wednesday. Humana Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.61 and a fifty-two week high of $315.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.44.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($3.96) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.01) by $0.05. Humana had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 0.92%.The company had revenue of $32.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.16) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Humana has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Humana’s payout ratio is presently 36.05%.

Humana Profile

Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM) is a health insurance company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that primarily serves individuals and groups across the United States. The company is best known for its Medicare business, offering Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug (Part D) coverage, alongside a range of commercial and employer-sponsored group health plans. Humana’s products are designed to cover medical, behavioral health and pharmacy needs for members, with particular emphasis on seniors and Medicare-eligible populations.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Humana provides care-management and wellness services intended to support chronic-condition management, preventive care and care coordination.