Everpar Advisors LLC Invests $512,000 in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 6,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sandy Spring Bank raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Centene by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Centene by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 32,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,490,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,186,384. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $75.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.95. The company has a market capitalization of $40.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the 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 $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.