Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stock Holdings Boosted by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 456,446 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,954 shares during the period. Centene accounts for approximately 3.4% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Vantage Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Centene worth $33,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Centene Trading Up 1.9 %

CNC stock traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,686,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,192,411. The firm has a market cap of $40.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.38. 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 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.65.

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 the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.38.

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.