Calamos Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,646 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Centene by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 56,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,213,000 after acquiring an additional 11,067 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in Centene by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 9,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. HealthInvest Partners AB purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,601,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Centene by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 676,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,186,000 after acquiring an additional 111,734 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $75.15 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 0.92 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 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays assumed coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.38.

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.