NEOS Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

NEOS Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 75,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,344 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,279,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,222,000. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,659,000. Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth approximately $4,531,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth approximately $2,134,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CNC. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $66.92 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $33.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.28. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.24 and a 12-month high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. Research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.