Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.23.

Centene Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Centene stock opened at $75.14 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.92. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $40.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.