Leuthold Group LLC Buys 1,665 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Leuthold Group LLC increased its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,727 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $274,274,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 535.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548,961 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Centene by 8.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Centene by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,161,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,395,000 after purchasing an additional 648,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 47.5% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 1,990,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,071,000 after purchasing an additional 641,000 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC traded up $0.65 on Tuesday, hitting $75.79. 327,464 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,160,216. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.92.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.23.

Insider Transactions at Centene

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

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.