MQS Management LLC Invests $355,000 in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in Centene by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CNC. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Nine equities 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.93.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $67.39. The stock had a trading volume of 5,447,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,422,596. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.