Ballentine Partners LLC Cuts Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Ballentine Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $1,325,441,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P grew its position in shares of Centene by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after buying an additional 6,881,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Centene by 60.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Centene by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 898,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,710,000 after acquiring an additional 386,379 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE CNC opened at $73.47 on Thursday. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $63.45 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.