OFI Invest Asset Management Buys New Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 5.5% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 30,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,398 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 6,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $58.61 on Wednesday. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.76 and its 200-day moving average is $64.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $29.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Centene 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.