Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 610,240 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,699 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.12% of Centene worth $36,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company's stock worth $1,980,932,000 after buying an additional 1,420,825 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Centene by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,255,000 after purchasing an additional 194,566 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 15.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company's stock worth $241,126,000 after purchasing an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Centene by 693.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,346,000 after buying an additional 1,490,935 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 40,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,409,962. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.31.

Centene Price Performance

CNC traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.95. 3,382,215 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,199,806. The company has a market capitalization of $29.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. Centene's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.97 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.