Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 14,578 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 243.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,570 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,578 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at about $2,048,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Centene by 37.0% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 646,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,233,000 after purchasing an additional 174,516 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:CNC opened at $41.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.81, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.47. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.81.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Centene from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.44.

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.