Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stake Boosted by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 53.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,405 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,670 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNC. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 1,401.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 46,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,901,000 after acquiring an additional 43,247 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 7.2% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Centene by 104.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 43,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,382 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Centene by 10.0% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 37,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,414 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of CNC opened at $70.73 on Monday. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $60.83 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.08.

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.