Headlands Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 2,479 Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Centene by 8.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after acquiring an additional 704,684 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Centene by 7.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,918,000 after acquiring an additional 408,525 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Centene by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,253,000 after acquiring an additional 187,958 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in Centene during the third quarter worth $274,274,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,547,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,365,000 after acquiring an additional 102,480 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays started coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.25.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $74.00 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.83. The stock has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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.