Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Position Reduced by Cigna Investments Inc. New

Cigna Investments Inc. New reduced its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,204 shares of the company’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Centene were worth $315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Centene by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Centene by 7.3% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 13.4% during the third quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Centene by 2.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CNC. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Centene Stock Down 2.6 %

CNC stock opened at $57.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.91. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

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.