Beck Bode LLC Has $4.87 Million Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Beck Bode LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,258 shares during the quarter. Beck Bode LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays started coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,507,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,140,155. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $76.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.86. The company has a market capitalization of $39.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 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 firm had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction 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 $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.