Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,106 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Centene by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Centene by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. 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.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $58.65 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.96. 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 company has a market capitalization of $29.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 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.