ING Groep NV Cuts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

ING Groep NV reduced its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,870 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $1,272,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Centene by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 141,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,598,000 after buying an additional 3,340 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 648.8% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 274,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,641,000 after acquiring an additional 238,011 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 804,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,761,000 after acquiring an additional 105,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth approximately $167,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $57.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast 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.