Simplicity Solutions LLC Decreases Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Simplicity Solutions LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene by 84,741.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 225,379,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,483,403,000 after purchasing an additional 225,114,221 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $713,235,000. Harris Associates L P purchased a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth about $274,274,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Centene by 166.5% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,225,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,530,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014,866 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Centene by 5,586.9% in the 1st quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,683,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653,829 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $72.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale 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 Centene stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

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.