Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price Down 4.3%

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) shares traded down 4.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $71.25 and last traded at $72.44. 1,528,776 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 3,030,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

Centene Stock Down 2.2 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. Centene’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. QV Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,350 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,239,000 after purchasing an additional 231,931 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Centene by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after acquiring an additional 68,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 286,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,239,000 after purchasing an additional 43,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% 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.