abrdn plc Grows Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

abrdn plc raised its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 62.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,092 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 104,416 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Centene were worth $20,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in Centene by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 32,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.38.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $75.84 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.