Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $21.64 Million Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,984 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.05% of Centene worth $21,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Up 0.8 %

CNC stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $73.68. 2,671,563 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,460,894. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $39.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.50. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.86.

Insider Activity

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

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.