Calamos Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 126,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,646 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 84,741.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 225,379,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,483,403,000 after acquiring an additional 225,114,221 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Centene by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after purchasing an additional 704,684 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $713,235,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Centene by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,918,000 after purchasing an additional 408,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Centene by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,253,000 after purchasing an additional 187,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of CNC opened at $75.15 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $40.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.57. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.