Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Acquired by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,353 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 1.0% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Centene by 2.4% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $64.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $59.77 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.31.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 25th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.23. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business had revenue of $42.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.91 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.17.

Centene 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.