River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 2,660 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,660 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $8,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings in 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 period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 1.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Centene by 7.2% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Centene by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $72.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $38.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.53. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.38.

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.