Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Purchased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 189.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,162 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,819 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Centene Stock Up 2.8 %

Centene stock traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $67.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,439,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,394,371. The stock has a market cap of $36.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.33 and a 200 day moving average of $73.83.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.