Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stake Boosted by CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,282 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,968 shares during the quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $12,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Centene Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Centene stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,482,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,527,865. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.12. The company has a market capitalization of $36.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $60.83 and a 52 week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.11 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

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.