Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $3.19 Million Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,590 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,152 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Centene were worth $3,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 5,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Centene by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 351,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,059,000 after buying an additional 64,693 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 1,476 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.86.

Centene Stock Down 0.1 %

CNC stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $73.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,043,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,449,588. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, 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 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.