Amundi Has $176.04 Million Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Amundi raised its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 77.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,786,770 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,214,425 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Centene were worth $176,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Centene by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,398,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of Centene by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,189,000 after acquiring an additional 14,671 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd increased its stake in Centene by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Centene by 17.1% during the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,478,000 after purchasing an additional 99,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,082,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CNC opened at $60.03 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

About Centene

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.