First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Purchases 122,870 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 122.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 223,157 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 122,870 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Centene were worth $7,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene by 5.1% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CNC. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Centene in a report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.81.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock opened at $46.07 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.