State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 400 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,927 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Centene by 73.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in Centene by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $59.09 on Thursday. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $29.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.86 and its 200 day moving average is $64.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.