UMB Bank n.a. Sells 1,505 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

UMB Bank n.a. decreased its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 49.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,552 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,505 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Centene were worth $94,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $1,536,167,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,952 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,760,000 after acquiring an additional 443,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $55.39 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.95. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $54.01 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.71.

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.