Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Sells 915 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,831 shares of the company’s stock after selling 915 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.0 %

Centene stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,490,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,186,384. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.95.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.23.

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.