Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 3,410 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 27.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,961 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,410 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in Centene by 154.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 0.2 %

Centene stock opened at $71.35 on Wednesday. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.45 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.16.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.