Seascape Capital Management Sells 1,267 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Seascape Capital Management decreased its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 39,874 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the quarter. Seascape Capital Management’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,398,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,189,000 after acquiring an additional 14,671 shares during the last quarter. Polianta Ltd grew its position in shares of Centene by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after purchasing an additional 99,904 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Centene by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,082,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, 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 purchased a total of 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $56.87 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.54. 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 has a market capitalization of $28.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, 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.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.