Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC

Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC cut its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 32.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,408 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,238 shares during the period. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 172.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Centene by 0.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $74.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $63.45 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.41. 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 earnings results 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). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The company had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CNC. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, September 20th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

Centene 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.