Centene Corporation $CNC Stake Lessened by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 322,874 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102,838 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Centene were worth $17,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Centene by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306,796 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth approximately $146,557,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Centene by 155.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,280 shares in the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC increased its stake in Centene by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 3,050,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,220,000 after buying an additional 1,050,648 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Investors LLC lifted its position in Centene by 588.1% in the 1st quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 1,042,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,284,000 after buying an additional 890,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $37.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The firm has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.49.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a positive return on equity of 7.82% and a negative net margin of 2.85%.The firm had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays set a $44.00 target price on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Centene from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.53.

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.