EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $1.67 Million Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 25,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,668,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company's stock worth $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Centene by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company's stock worth $554,338,000 after purchasing an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. grew its stake in Centene by 184.0% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company's stock worth $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.2%

CNC stock opened at $64.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.40. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.24 and a 12 month high of $69.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The firm's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene's offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.

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