Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Boosts Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,501 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Centene were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNC. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 588.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $56.45 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.80. The company has a market capitalization of $28.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

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.