Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 30.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 708,717 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 163,462 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.14% of Centene worth $43,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.3%

CNC traded up $0.39 on Wednesday, hitting $30.39. The company had a trading volume of 12,125,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,869,166. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.66. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.56 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CNC. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Centene from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average 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.