Amalgamated Bank Sells 9,952 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,952 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Centene by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,255,000 after purchasing an additional 194,566 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,126,000 after purchasing an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Centene by 693.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,346,000 after buying an additional 1,490,935 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 2.2 %

Centene stock opened at $58.18 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $28.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during 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%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.