Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,784 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Centene were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 136,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,257,000 after buying an additional 5,828 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $301,000. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 125,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,628,000 after acquiring an additional 7,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $58.27 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.93. The company has a market cap of $28.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. 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 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. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CNC. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

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.