Centene Corporation $CNC Stock: Kintegral Advisory LLC Grows Stake

Kintegral Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 277.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,182 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,268 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC grew its position in Centene by 3.9% in the third quarter. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC now owns 4,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Centene by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 target price on Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.27. The stock had a trading volume of 3,336,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,808,065. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $34.22 billion, a PE ratio of -6.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.63 and a 12-month high of $71.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.41 and its 200-day moving average is $59.67.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.16) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.