Davis Capital Management Purchases 1,903 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Davis Capital Management raised its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,352 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,903 shares during the quarter. Davis Capital Management’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.09. The company had a trading volume of 4,553,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,435,288. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.63. The company has a market capitalization of $41.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.