Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,664,107 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,667 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.31% of Centene worth $123,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. QV Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Centene by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,350 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in Centene by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,239,000 after buying an additional 231,931 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after acquiring an additional 68,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Centene by 8.2% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 186,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,817,000 after acquiring an additional 14,070 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays started coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $72.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.52. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42.

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

Centene 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.