GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $182,000 in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 16.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 45.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 94,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,519,000 after purchasing an additional 29,676 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.2% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 243,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,744,000 after purchasing an additional 14,209 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 43.2% in the third quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 13,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.5% in the third quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE CNC opened at $74.00 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.77. The company has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays started coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.25.

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.