Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 49.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,166 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $821,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,932,000 after buying an additional 1,420,825 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Centene by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Centene by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,255,000 after purchasing an additional 194,566 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,126,000 after purchasing an additional 428,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Centene by 693.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,935 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $56.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.08 and its 200-day moving average is $66.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

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.