National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 17,120 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 452,438 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,120 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Centene were worth $34,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Centene by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 50,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,493,000 after purchasing an additional 23,434 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Centene by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 365,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,950,000 after acquiring an additional 21,892 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter valued at approximately $395,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $75.04. 1,223,944 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,175,574. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.90. The company has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.23.

Centene 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.