Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys 17,151 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 505,271 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,151 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.09% of Centene worth $37,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in Centene by 16.9% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Centene by 45.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 94,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,519,000 after purchasing an additional 29,676 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Centene by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 243,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,744,000 after purchasing an additional 14,209 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in Centene by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 13,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 3,995 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,382,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,098,969. The stock has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $76.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.75. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 of the company's stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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