Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stake Decreased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service decreased its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 33.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 950,637 shares of the company’s stock after selling 484,845 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Centene were worth $57,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Centene by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 65,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,941,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $58.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.01 and a 200-day moving average of $65.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene 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.