Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Position Increased by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,558 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,942 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $28,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. Barclays began coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $71.98 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.53. The stock has a market cap of $38.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.