New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 40,073 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 77,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,073 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Centene during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Centene during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Centene during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Centene news, 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 directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.23.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $74.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.84. 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 has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.