Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) CEO Sarah London Buys 30,000 Shares

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC – Get Rating) CEO Sarah London purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $62.60 per share, for a total transaction of $1,878,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 313,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,653,457.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Centene Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $62.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.75. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.82 and a fifty-two week high of $98.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.01). Centene had a net margin of 0.83% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $35.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Centene from $92.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Centene from $97.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. TheStreet lowered Centene from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Argus increased their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on Centene from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Centene by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,881,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth about $749,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.28% of the company’s stock.

Centene Company Profile

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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.