Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,391 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,906 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $844,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,117 shares of the company's stock worth $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,549 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 32.4% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 621,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,799,000 after buying an additional 22,233 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 6.2 %

CNC opened at $57.74 on Friday. Centene Co. has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $28.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $60.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.70. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $64.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.69.

Centene Company 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.

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