Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 74,449 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 13.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 474,878 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,449 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Centene were worth $29,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction 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 approximately $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Centene from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.80.

Centene Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $70.17 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.83 and its 200-day moving average is $56.12. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.63 and a 12-month high of $78.08. The stock has a market cap of $34.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.48. Centene had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The company had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation is a U.S. health care company that provides managed care and related services, primarily for people enrolled in government-sponsored health programs. Its offerings include Medicaid and Medicare plans, as well as health insurance sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Centene serves members through health plans and a network of health care providers. Its businesses include Ambetter, which offers marketplace health plans, and Wellcare, which provides Medicare-related coverage.