DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Buys 30,146 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 254,411 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,146 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in Centene were worth $18,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 1,401.4% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 46,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,901,000 after acquiring an additional 43,247 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.2% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 104.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 43,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,382 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.0% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 37,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,414 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $72.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,420,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,037,057. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.08.

Centene 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.