Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires 168 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 68,009 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Centene by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in shares of Centene by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Centene by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $66.00. 3,877,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,365,200. The company has a market cap of $35.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.50. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.29.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its 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 company 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%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated 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 started coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Baird R W raised Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.23.

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.