Norden Group LLC Has $461,000 Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 79.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,878 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $1,325,441,000. Harris Associates L P increased its holdings in Centene by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881,450 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 535.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548,961 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in Centene by 375.1% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,943,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Centene by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,161,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,395,000 after purchasing an additional 648,620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $67.25 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.37. The firm has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.