TCW Group Inc. Sells 106,252 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

TCW Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 73.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,103 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106,252 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,398,000 after acquiring an additional 10,515 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Centene by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,189,000 after buying an additional 14,671 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd increased its stake in Centene by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Centene by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after buying an additional 99,904 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Centene by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,082,000 after buying an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Centene Stock Up 2.1 %

CNC stock opened at $58.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.02 and a 200 day moving average of $65.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $81.42.

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