Brooklyn Investment Group Reduces Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Brooklyn Investment Group trimmed its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,397 shares of the company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Centene were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Centene by 80.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 62,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,880,000 after acquiring an additional 27,721 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in Centene in the first quarter worth approximately $886,000. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Centene by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,237,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,587,000 after purchasing an additional 6,051 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 19,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 59,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,707,000 after buying an additional 1,997 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.86. The company had a trading volume of 4,033,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,546,665. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.33.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.11 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CNC. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Centene from $90.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.