Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,770 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,764 shares during the period. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 8.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after buying an additional 704,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,918,000 after buying an additional 408,525 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,253,000 after buying an additional 187,958 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth $274,274,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,547,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,365,000 after buying an additional 102,480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $75.68. 3,639,590 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,057,922. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.75.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.