Savant Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Savant Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Centene by 8.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after acquiring an additional 704,684 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Centene by 7.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,918,000 after buying an additional 408,525 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Centene by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,253,000 after buying an additional 187,958 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $274,274,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,547,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,365,000 after acquiring an additional 102,480 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.23.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $74.81 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.88. The firm has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

About Centene

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.