Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Increases Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 245.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,947 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Centene by 193.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth about $211,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in Centene by 95.2% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 12,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 6,043 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 6.2% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Centene stock opened at $58.27 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The firm has a market cap of $28.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.83.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.