Intellectus Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Intellectus Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 38.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,012 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,788 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Centene by 8.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Centene by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $55.16 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a one year low of $54.01 and a one year high of $80.59. The company has a market capitalization of $27.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.31.

About Centene

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.