Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,785 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 32,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 2.7 %

Centene stock opened at $66.39 on Wednesday. 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 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $35.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.28.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.11 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.93.

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.