Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Acquired by Bellwether Advisors LLC

Bellwether Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,390 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,667 shares during the quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in Centene by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 327,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,298,000 after acquiring an additional 112,605 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Centene by 18.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,046,000 after purchasing an additional 98,298 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Centene by 435.0% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 20,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 16,304 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Centene by 35.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 7,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Centene by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 947,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,320,000 after purchasing an additional 51,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.83. 3,063,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,842,537. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The firm has a market cap of $41.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.92.

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 company had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

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.