Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 1,504 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,504 shares during the period. Centene comprises about 2.0% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $18,483,403,000 after purchasing an additional 225,114,221 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $713,235,000. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth about $274,274,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Centene by 166.5% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,225,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,530,000 after buying an additional 2,014,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Centene by 5,586.9% during the first quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,683,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653,829 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE CNC traded up $0.15 on Thursday, hitting $78.50. 724,661 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,960,979. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. 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 company has a market cap of $41.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.07 and a 200-day moving average of $73.98.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $36.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Centene from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Five research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.46.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the 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 approximately $886,731.55. The transaction 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.