IBM Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. IBM Retirement Fund’s holdings in Centene were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in Centene by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 10,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. increased its position in shares of Centene by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 10,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 13,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI increased its position in shares of Centene by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI now owns 628 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. increased its position in shares of Centene by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Anderson Hoagland & Co. now owns 40,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.83% of the company’s stock.
NYSE CNC opened at $65.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.61. Centene Corp has a 1-year low of $41.62 and a 1-year high of $69.25.
Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $18.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.39 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 1.87%. Centene’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Centene Corp will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
A number of analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research raised Centene from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Centene from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on Centene from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Centene currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.31.
In other news, CEO Michael F. Neidorff sold 75,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total value of $4,275,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,368,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,976,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jesse N. Hunter sold 20,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,200,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 285,519 shares of company stock valued at $16,416,060 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.
About Centene
Centene Corporation operates as a diversified and multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured individuals in the United States. The company’s Managed Care segment offers health plan coverage to individuals through government subsidized programs, including Medicaid, the State children’s health insurance program, long-term services and support, foster care, and medicare-medicaid plans, which covers dually eligible individuals, as well as aged, blind, or disabled programs.
