Sector Gamma AS Has $16.06 Million Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Sector Gamma AS lessened its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 216,416 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,732 shares during the period. Centene comprises approximately 3.9% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in Centene were worth $16,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNC. Barclays began coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.25.

Centene Trading Down 2.2 %

CNC traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.00. The stock had a trading volume of 6,382,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,066,376. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.77. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $60.83 and a 52 week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, 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 company insiders.

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.