Moran Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Moran Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,110 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Centene by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CNC opened at $59.41 on Tuesday. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.80 and a 200 day moving average of $64.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on CNC shares. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

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.