Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CNC. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays began coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Stephens restated 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.38.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $72.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.55. The stock has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 0.90 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.