764 Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Purchased by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 5.5% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 1.1% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 134,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Centene by 8.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 113,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,784,000 after purchasing an additional 8,853 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 39.0% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 36,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 10,117 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNC. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.93.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $67.72 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. 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 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. 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.