Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC – Get Rating) by 192.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,968 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 206,736 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.06% of Centene worth $25,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. James Investment Research Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.28% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 30,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.60 per share, for a total transaction of $1,878,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 313,953 shares in the company, valued at $19,653,457.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO James E. Murray bought 6,750 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $73.30 per share, for a total transaction of $494,775.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 136,220 shares in the company, valued at $9,984,926. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 30,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $62.60 per share, for a total transaction of $1,878,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 313,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,653,457.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 46,750 shares of company stock worth $3,091,605 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.
Centene Price Performance
Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.01). Centene had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 0.83%. The business had revenue of $35.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Centene declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, December 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Bank of America cut shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. TheStreet cut shares of Centene from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Centene from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $94.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $79.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.39.
Centene Profile
Centene Corp. operates as a healthcare enterprise, which engages in the provision of programs and services to government sponsored healthcare programs. It operates through the following segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.
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