Scharf Investments LLC Has $120.64 Million Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Scharf Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,991,381 shares of the company's stock after selling 148,141 shares during the period. Centene accounts for about 3.6% of Scharf Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Centene worth $120,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Centene by 693.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,935 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company's stock worth $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Centene by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock worth $97,082,000 after buying an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $236,940,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,863,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,210,748. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $81.42. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Centene had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 1.90%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Centene's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CNC. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of 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, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.31.

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.