St. Louis Trust Co Boosts Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

St. Louis Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,294 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,794 shares during the quarter. Centene makes up about 0.6% of St. Louis Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. St. Louis Trust Co’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in Centene during the third quarter worth about $274,274,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 535.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548,961 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 8.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after acquiring an additional 704,684 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Centene by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,161,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,395,000 after acquiring an additional 648,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C raised its stake in shares of Centene by 47.5% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 1,990,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,071,000 after acquiring an additional 641,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following 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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Stephens reissued 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Centene Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of CNC stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.06. 4,507,356 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,140,155. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $39.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.85.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. Centene’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.