Centene (NYSE:CNC) General Counsel Sells $3,779,850.00 in Stock

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Christopher Koster also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of Centene stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08.

Centene Trading Down 0.4%

CNC traded down $0.24 on Thursday, reaching $65.23. 3,647,686 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,861,675. The company has a market cap of $32.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $28.24 and a one year high of $69.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.98.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 5,937.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,149,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,962,318,000 after purchasing an additional 45,384,854 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter valued at $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Centene by 423.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10,757,914 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $332,044,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.