Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 51.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 728,487 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 247,097 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Centene worth $57,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 670.0% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 140,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,044,000 after purchasing an additional 122,447 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at $301,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Centene by 7.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,066,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,720,000 after acquiring an additional 69,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 5.0% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC traded down $1.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.85. 1,629,927 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,366,541. The company has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.25. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.23.

About Centene

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.