Raymond James & Associates Buys 5,897 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 248,995 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,897 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Centene were worth $18,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Centene in the third quarter worth $246,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth $308,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,118,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.17.

Centene Stock Up 4.2 %

NYSE CNC opened at $64.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $59.77 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.16 and a 200-day moving average of $72.37.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

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.