DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 46,842 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale reduced its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 583,845 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,842 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.11% of Centene worth $43,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $914,080,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Centene by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company's stock worth $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Centene by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company's stock worth $364,117,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Centene by 60.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $409,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,460 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company's stock worth $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.63. 6,381,957 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,830,466. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $59.77 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $72.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The company's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.67.

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.