Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Centene by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 32,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:CNC traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.00. 6,382,726 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,098,969. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.75. Centene Co. has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

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.