Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Purchased by Lindbrook Capital LLC

Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,999 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $75.59 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $36.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.