Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV trimmed its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 10.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,885 shares of the company’s stock after selling 323 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Centene were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at about $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 172.8% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881,450 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in Centene by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Centene by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,117,000 after buying an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in Centene by 60.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after buying an additional 1,959,460 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $72.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $63.45 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $38.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.24.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. 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 firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.58.

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.