Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 376 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,214 shares of the company’s stock after selling 376 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Centene were worth $2,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in Centene by 154.6% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $75.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.51. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 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. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $63.45 and a twelve month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

About Centene

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.