Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by SRS Capital Advisors Inc.

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 73.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 631 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Centene by 75.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised 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 valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $60.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $29.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.61.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Argus lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

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.