Hengehold Capital Management LLC Buys 45,291 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Hengehold Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 45,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,813,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 3.9% during the third quarter. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC now owns 4,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Centene by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Centene by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in Centene by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Centene by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CNC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Insider Activity

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 value of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.27. 3,336,077 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,808,065. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $34.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $31.63 and a one year high of $71.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.