Venture Visionary Partners LLC Purchases 40,273 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Venture Visionary Partners acquired 40,273 Centene shares worth approximately $2.5 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.63% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $70.05; several firms maintain Buy or Overweight ratings.
• Centene reported quarterly EPS of $2.51, well above the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion. Separately, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares for about $3.78 million.

Venture Visionary Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 40,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,502,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Centene by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in Centene by 25.9% in the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Summitry LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 23,925 shares of the company's stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 2.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,674 shares of the company's stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in Centene by 3.1% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,999 shares of the company's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, September 11th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, September 11th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.05.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $64.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.13. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.63 and a 1 year high of $69.63. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $64.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.14.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.16) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.

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