Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 755,506 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,673 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.14% of Centene worth $56,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• Can UnitedHealth Group afford to keep Medicare Advantage plans?

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. 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 lifted their price objective 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 Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.25.

• Mega merger in the works? Humana, Cigna explore big deal

View Our Latest Stock Report on Centene

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock traded down $1.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.00. 6,382,731 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,066,376. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

• Prescriptions for Portfolio Health: 3 Resilient Healthcare Stocks

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene 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 sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Centene Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

• Five stocks we like better than Centene
• Where Do I Find 52-Week Highs and Lows?
• MarketBeat Week in Review – 4/22 - 4/26
• What Do S&P 500 Stocks Tell Investors About the Market?
• 3 Stocks Leading the U.S. Agriculture Comeback
• How to Use Stock Screeners to Find Stocks
• How to Use Put Debit Spreads to Profit From Falling Stocks

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

→ Has Jeff Bezos Found the Next Nvidia? (From InvestorPlace) (Ad)

Should you invest $1,000 in Centene right now?

Before you consider Centene, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Centene wasn't on the list.

While Centene currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here