AGF Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,674 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,524 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Centene by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its position in Centene by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $58.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $29.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.11. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $80.59.

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

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Argus cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

Centene 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.