Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Holdings Reduced by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 39.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 233,593 shares of the company's stock after selling 150,444 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $17,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,140,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Centene by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 230,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,490,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Centene by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,941,000 after purchasing an additional 68,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:CNC traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $72.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,504,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,054,266. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.80 and a 200-day moving average of $74.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays began coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now 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 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.