Mather Group LLC. Invests $207,000 in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. QV Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after acquiring an additional 33,350 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,239,000 after buying an additional 231,931 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after acquiring an additional 68,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Centene by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 286,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,239,000 after acquiring an additional 43,118 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $74.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $75.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.84. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Six 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.23.

About Centene

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.