Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lowered its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 21.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 555 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Centene were worth $134,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $127,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,256,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 51,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,832,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its stake in Centene by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 42,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $75.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $73.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.53. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $63.45 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The company had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CNC. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.58.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.