Hosking Partners LLP Sells 8,816 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Hosking Partners LLP trimmed its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,816 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 77.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $58.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $61.01 and its 200-day moving average is $65.38. The company has a market capitalization of $28.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Centene Company 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.