Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $218,000 Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,591 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 65,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,941,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 5,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of Centene by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $61.40 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $30.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.49. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

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.