Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,133 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,960 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Centene by 693.5% during 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 grew its stake in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,825 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,786,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,040,000 after buying an additional 1,214,425 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,736,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,126,000 after buying an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $57.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.06. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

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.