32,300 Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 32,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $72.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $76.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

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.