Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stock Position Lifted by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 83.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,166 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,347 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Centene were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,325,441,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at about $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P grew its position in Centene by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after buying an additional 6,881,450 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,033,000 after acquiring an additional 32,427 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 60.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Centene from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.36.

Centene Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:CNC traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $75.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,209,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,514,163. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.09 and its 200-day moving average is $73.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

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.