Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Purchased by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,527 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Centene were worth $12,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.93.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $66.19 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.73. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $35.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.50. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Centene

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

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.