Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 91,429 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 140.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,332 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 91,429 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $6,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 455.6% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 11,011.1% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 152.5% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $38.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $64.15. The company has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.23 and its 200 day moving average is $39.02.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The business had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.88.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.