Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 38,732 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 33.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,366 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,732 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 77.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $58.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $28.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.01 and its 200 day moving average is $65.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.