Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,301 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,351,000 after purchasing an additional 704,684 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Centene by 7.3% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Centene by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,253,000 after acquiring an additional 187,958 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth about $274,274,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Centene by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,547,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,365,000 after purchasing an additional 102,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, April 29th. 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. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.23.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $75.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.95. The stock has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.