Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 18,146 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd. reduced its Centene position by 18,146 shares, or 1.2%, but still held 1.49 million shares worth approximately $92.8 million at the end of the quarter.
• Centene shares rose 0.5% to $70.54, near their 52-week high of $71.00. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $2.51, substantially above the $1.09 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: nine analysts rate the stock a Buy, 10 a Hold and two a Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $70.05.

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,493,620 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,146 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.30% of Centene worth $92,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at $25,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:CNC traded up $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $70.54. 2,255,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,638,173. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.21 and a 200-day moving average of $59.33. The stock has a market cap of $34.84 billion, a PE ratio of -6.76, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.63 and a fifty-two week high of $71.00.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. The company's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.16) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.05.

About Centene

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.

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