Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 527,405 shares of the company’s stock after selling 233,245 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Centene were worth $31,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. Harris Associates L P lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,255,000 after purchasing an additional 194,566 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Centene by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,803,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,412,000 after buying an additional 130,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 15.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,126,000 after buying an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $57.83 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $28.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.06.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens cut their price objective on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

About Centene

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.