Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Acquires New Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 30,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,395,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Centene by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 327,442 shares of the company's stock worth $24,298,000 after purchasing an additional 112,605 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. raised its position in Centene by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company's stock worth $22,655,000 after acquiring an additional 33,350 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Centene by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,239,000 after acquiring an additional 231,931 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Centene by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 947,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,320,000 after acquiring an additional 51,878 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,349,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.92. 5,482,575 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,298,974. 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 52 week low of $60.83 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $73.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.12. The firm has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.47.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Eight 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.93.

Centene Company 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.