Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 799,910 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,545,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 799,910 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.90% of Centene worth $275,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Centene by 75.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 77.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $56.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.43. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $80.67.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion for 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 business’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, research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.