3,905 Shares in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Purchased by Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 16,108 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP purchased a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $610,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 216,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,142,000 after acquiring an additional 100,039 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.3% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Centene by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 925,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,046,000 after purchasing an additional 270,899 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.71.

Centene Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $53.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $57.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.62. The company has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.93 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. Centene’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.