Achmea Investment Management B.V. Decreases Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lowered its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 60.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150,982 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Centene by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 4,077 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 7,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in Centene by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 48,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Centene by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Centene stock opened at $57.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.06. The company has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

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.