Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Buys New Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in Centene by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 327,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,298,000 after acquiring an additional 112,605 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,350 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Centene by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,239,000 after purchasing an additional 231,931 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Centene by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 947,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,320,000 after purchasing an additional 51,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,349,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CNC. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird initiated 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.93.

Centene Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of CNC traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.72. 2,818,077 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,292,540. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Centene Company 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.