Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 817 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,046 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the third quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Centene in the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $71.98 on Thursday. 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 $38.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.66 and its 200 day moving average is $74.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued 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. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CNC. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays assumed coverage on Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

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.