Amundi Buys 1,214,425 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Amundi raised its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 77.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,786,770 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,214,425 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.55% of Centene worth $176,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Centene by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Centene by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $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 a total of 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $60.03 on Monday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.42.

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. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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.