Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 249 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Centene were worth $703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $914,080,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after acquiring an additional 636,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $62.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.98 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 12 month low of $61.62 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.44 and its 200 day moving average is $72.69.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given 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 price target 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.