Blue Trust Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,303 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,272 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Centene by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,414,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,687,000 after acquiring an additional 52,082 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 10,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $167,000. Finally, Bonfire Financial purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $490,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.6 %

CNC stock opened at $55.94 on Wednesday. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $28.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

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.