By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC – Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,656 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,727 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 5.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 621,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,799,000 after acquiring an additional 22,233 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 193.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,398 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 97.9% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 6,989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.
Insider Transactions at Centene
In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.
Centene Price Performance
NYSE:CNC opened at $59.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59.
Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays increased their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens lowered their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.
Read Our Latest Report on Centene
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.
See Also
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