Capital International Investors Purchases 1,959,460 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 60.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,959,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Centene were worth $409,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 10,867 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 5,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 351,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,059,000 after acquiring an additional 64,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $118,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 8.5 %

Centene stock traded up $5.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,637,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,466,414. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.03 and a 200-day moving average of $73.76. The stock has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.62. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, June 21st. TD Cowen cut their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.93.

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.