Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Hosking Partners LLP

Hosking Partners LLP lessened its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,816 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, 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 cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $58.18 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $28.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.80 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Argus cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Company 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.