Great Lakes Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avaii Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $348,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Centene during the second quarter valued at about $16,285,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter worth about $826,000. Bonfire Financial acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter worth about $519,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter worth about $18,279,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at $19,957,937.44. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $64.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.24 and a 1-year high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.16) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Centene

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.