20,075 Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Purchased by Retireful LLC

Retireful LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays initiated coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Centene from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 target price (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.46.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CNC stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.78. 2,745,573 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,231,869. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $77.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Centene's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.