MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene 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 sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.39. The company had a trading volume of 5,447,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,422,596. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.79. The company has a market capitalization of $35.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.93.

Centene 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.