Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Reduces Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,557 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.0 %

Centene stock opened at $57.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.82. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. 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 (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.