Swiss National Bank Trims Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,693,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.32% of Centene worth $125,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after acquiring an additional 704,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 7.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,918,000 after purchasing an additional 408,525 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,253,000 after purchasing an additional 187,958 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at about $274,274,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,547,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,365,000 after buying an additional 102,480 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

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

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $74.81 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41.

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

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.