Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 64.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,420 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 76,694 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $11,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $1.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $29.12. 19,401,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,925,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $51.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.34, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.44. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.93 and a 12-month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Centene's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America cut shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer set a $51.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Centene from $84.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.63.

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.