Quest Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QV Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Centene by 12.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,239,000 after acquiring an additional 231,931 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $2,349,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 452,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,761,000 after acquiring an additional 17,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,941,000 after acquiring an additional 68,854 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CNC. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Six equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.23.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.63. 4,019,964 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,595,321. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.41. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current 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.