Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 43,673 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 260,475 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,673 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Centene were worth $15,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Centene by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Centene by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in Centene by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $58.48 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS 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.