Toronto Dominion Bank Sells 101,588 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Toronto Dominion Bank decreased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 25.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 101,588 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned approximately 0.06% of Centene worth $23,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock traded up $5.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.10. 9,686,551 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,092,040. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.50. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.03 and its 200 day moving average is $73.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.