Bessemer Group Inc. Has $360,000 Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 27.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,475 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Polianta Ltd acquired a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $1,253,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,033,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 83.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 42,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,566,000 after buying an additional 19,181 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,810,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,045,000 after buying an additional 143,573 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $493,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $35.34 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $66.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.37 billion, a PE ratio of -3.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.53.

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.