Blair William & Co. IL Sells 5,065 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Blair William & Co. IL lessened its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,065 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $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 acquiring an additional 6,881,450 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,033,000 after purchasing an additional 32,427 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Centene by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Centene by 60.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,390,000 after buying an additional 1,959,460 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $75.61 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.46. The firm has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. 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 one year low of $63.45 and a one year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.