Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,459 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Centene makes up approximately 1.7% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Centene by 693.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,935 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Centene by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,082,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at $236,940,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 40,893 shares of company stock worth $2,409,962 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.31.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $58.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.00. The company has a market cap of $29.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 13.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Centene Company 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.