18,824 Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Purchased by Bryce Point Capital LLC

Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,140,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Centene by 7.9% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Centene by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 28,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,183,000 after buying an additional 5,716 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 24.4% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in Centene by 273.5% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 44,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 32,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 21.5% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Argus lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reduced their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock opened at $60.69 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.44. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The firm has a market cap of $30.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

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.