Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 12,537 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,459 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Centene accounts for about 1.7% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Centene were worth $5,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Centene by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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, Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 588.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC traded down $0.04 during midday 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.23 and a 200-day moving average of $66.97. The company has a market capitalization of $29.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. UBS Group raised Centene from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 40,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,409,962 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.