Empowered Funds LLC Has $16.95 Million Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 279,783 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,327 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.06% of Centene worth $16,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.3% during 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 during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at about $66,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Centene by 77.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Centene by 588.0% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $58.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.95. The stock has a market cap of $29.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42. 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 (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, 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 bought a total of 40,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,409,962 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.31.

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.