New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 82,733 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 724,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,733 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Centene worth $53,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after purchasing an additional 704,684 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Centene by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,918,000 after buying an additional 408,525 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Centene by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,253,000 after purchasing an additional 187,958 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $274,274,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Centene by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,547,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,365,000 after purchasing an additional 102,480 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $75.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $76.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

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.