Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC reduced its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,333 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth $33,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 154.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of Centene stock opened at $73.47 on Thursday. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $63.45 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $39.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.64.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.75.

Centene Company 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.