Centene (NYSE:CNC) General Counsel Christopher Koster Sells 56,500 Shares

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Christopher Koster also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of Centene stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08.

Centene Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $65.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.24 and a 12-month high of $69.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.26 and its 200 day moving average is $53.16.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Centene by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho set a $63.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.05.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.