Running Oak Capital LLC Increases Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,905 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,626 shares during the quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $7,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in Centene by 7.6% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 90,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,210,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital raised its position in Centene by 6.0% in the third quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 3,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Centene by 66.2% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,001,000 after purchasing an additional 237,052 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Centene by 0.5% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 90,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,208,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at $206,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.23.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $74.33. 5,386,609 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,180,931. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $39.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.41.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.