Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Altfest L J & Co. Inc.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,829 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,260 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in Centene by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Centene by 24.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Vicus Capital boosted its position in shares of Centene by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in Centene by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 21,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Centene from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Centene from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.46.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.42. 1,169,795 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,967,653. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $41.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.98.

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