Toroso Investments LLC Increases Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC – Get Rating) by 156.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,741 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,433 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its stake in shares of Centene by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Centene by 1.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Centene by 24.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 2.2% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 1.0% during the third quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 93.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $62.55 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $61.82 and a 12-month high of $98.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.48 billion, a PE ratio of 30.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.01). Centene had a net margin of 0.83% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $35.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.34 EPS for the current year.

Centene declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 16th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cowen cut their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Centene from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.94.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.89 per share, for a total transaction of $215,670.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 310,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,354,554.95. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.88 per share, with a total value of $503,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,234.56. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.89 per share, for a total transaction of $215,670.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 310,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,354,554.95. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 46,750 shares of company stock worth $3,091,605 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Centene

(Get Rating)

Centene Corp. operates as a healthcare enterprise, which engages in the provision of programs and services to government sponsored healthcare programs. It operates through the following segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.