Sector Gamma AS Sells 25,000 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Sector Gamma AS reduced its stake in Centene Corporation by 14.1%, selling 25,000 shares and holding a total of 152,000 shares valued at approximately $8,251,000.
• Insider transactions included the purchases of shares by Director Theodore R. Samuels II and CEO Sarah London, indicating growing confidence in the company's future despite recent stock decline.
• Centene's stock has seen a 4.7% drop, recently trading at $34.34 after reporting a significant earnings miss for the last quarter.

Sector Gamma AS lessened its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Centene accounts for approximately 2.7% of Sector Gamma AS's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sector Gamma AS's holdings in Centene were worth $8,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter worth about $77,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 78.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its holdings in Centene by 44.9% during the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Down 4.7%

CNC stock opened at $34.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $32.90 and its 200 day moving average is $43.03. The stock has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $70.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.50.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CNC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.