Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 498 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Centene were worth $2,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in Centene by 5.7% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Centene by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after acquiring an additional 111,654 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Centene by 3.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,255,000 after acquiring an additional 194,566 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Centene by 15.4% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Centene by 693.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,935 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.3 %

Centene stock opened at $57.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. This represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.