Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,648 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 154.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 265.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.4 %

CNC stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,123,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,459,605. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.02 and a 200 day moving average of $73.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Nine investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

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.