Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 265.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 632 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 459 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Centene were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.36.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Centene news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $1.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $75.44. The stock had a trading volume of 4,183,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,529,513. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.03 and its 200-day moving average is $73.63. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.