SouthState Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

SouthState Corp decreased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sandy Spring Bank raised its stake in Centene by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 32,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Trading Up 2.9 %

Centene stock traded up $2.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $74.33. 5,385,276 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,180,931. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.84.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.23.

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.