National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 17,120 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 452,438 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,120 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.08% of Centene worth $34,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 704,684 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $414,918,000 after purchasing an additional 408,525 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Centene by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,253,000 after buying an additional 187,958 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth about $274,274,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,547,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,365,000 after purchasing an additional 102,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Centene stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Monday, reaching $75.04. 1,223,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,175,574. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Centene’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.23.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other 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 value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.