Signaturefd LLC Grows Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,288 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 832 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $75.59 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.