Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stock Position Cut by Fortem Financial Group LLC

Fortem Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,170 shares of the company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Centene by 3.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,196,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,319,000 after purchasing an additional 41,209 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 33,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,214,000 after buying an additional 7,667 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 23.5% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 6.6% during the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in Centene by 41.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $80.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $42.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.50. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.31 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.91.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

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.