Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 7,435 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,122 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,435 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Centene were worth $3,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Centene by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the first quarter valued at $118,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 62.5% during the first quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 8,360 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 5,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $26.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.11 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.79 and its 200-day moving average is $54.22. The stock has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Centene from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $65.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.20.

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.