Summit Global Investments Has $620,000 Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Summit Global Investments grew its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 54.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,353 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Centene were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in Centene during the third quarter worth about $274,274,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 535.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548,961 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Centene by 8.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,351,000 after purchasing an additional 704,684 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Centene by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,161,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,395,000 after purchasing an additional 648,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C raised its holdings in Centene by 47.5% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 1,990,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,071,000 after purchasing an additional 641,000 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.23.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $74.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.88. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, 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 owned by company insiders.

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.