Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 50.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 494,381 shares of the company's stock after selling 507,704 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.10% of Centene worth $29,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Trading Down 1.4 %

CNC traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $62.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,113,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,695,223. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $59.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Remove Ads

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Centene's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.85.

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.