Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 11,193 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,555 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,193 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Centene were worth $5,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 2.1% during the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.2% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Centene by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its position in Centene by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 5,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Down 0.1 %

Centene stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $58.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,451,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,396,307. The company has a market capitalization of $29.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $81.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.97.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised Centene from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 40,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,409,962 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.