Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,586 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,640 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Centene were worth $3,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 193.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the company's stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 6,989 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Centene by 95.2% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 12,391 shares of the company's stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens cut their target price on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.92.

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Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $57.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $60.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.06.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 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.

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