Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Grows Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 23.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,763 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,905 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Centene were worth $4,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 32,481 shares of the company's stock worth $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,674 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,373,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 107,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,067,000 after acquiring an additional 5,463 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,410 shares during the period. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 5,031 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised Centene from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.31.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $60.82. 5,908,445 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,354,732. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $30.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.10. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 1.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side 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.