River Road Asset Management LLC Has $6.19 Million Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,439 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $6,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Centene by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Centene by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Centene by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its position in Centene by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock opened at $58.61 on Wednesday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.76 and its 200-day moving average is $64.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

Centene Company 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.