Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Makes New Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in Centene by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares during the period. Factorial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,241,000. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Centene by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Centene by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $58.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.18. The company has a market capitalization of $28.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus 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.