Mackenzie Financial Corp Raises Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 381,558 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,942 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.07% of Centene worth $28,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 1.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company's stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company's stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Centene by 24.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 856 shares of the company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays began coverage on Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on 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 issued a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 235,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded up $1.75 during trading on Thursday, reaching $73.75. 5,093,492 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,084,170. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $39.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

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.