Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Down 4.3%

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) shares dropped 4.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $71.25 and last traded at $72.44. Approximately 1,528,776 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 3,030,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CNC. Barclays began coverage on Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Centene Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.32 and a 200 day moving average of $74.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Centene

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,325,441,000. Harris Associates L P raised its position in Centene by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after buying an additional 6,881,450 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Centene by 535.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,396,000 after buying an additional 1,548,961 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its position in Centene by 375.1% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,943,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,263,000 after buying an additional 1,534,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Centene by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after purchasing an additional 704,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.