Centene (NYSE:CNC) General Counsel Sells $3,779,850.00 in Stock

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Christopher Koster also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of Centene stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08.

Centene Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $64.91 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.24 and a 1 year high of $69.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.25. The company has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 80.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 4,315 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 20.3% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 6.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,590,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Argus upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.