PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 4,618 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,498 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,618 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. QV Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Centene by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,350 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Centene by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,239,000 after buying an additional 231,931 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $2,349,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Centene by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 452,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,761,000 after acquiring an additional 17,120 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Centene by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after purchasing an additional 68,854 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $77.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.58. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.41.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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.