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

New York Life Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $74.81 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.84. The company has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41.

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 firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, March 21st. Six 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.23.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. 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.