Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Persistent Asset Partners Ltd

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd lowered its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 220,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,014 shares during the quarter. Centene comprises about 4.1% of Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Centene by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. lifted its holdings in Centene by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.24.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $61.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $30.25 billion, a PE ratio of -4.66, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.09. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.55.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current 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.