DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Raises Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 630,687 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,808 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.12% of Centene worth $42,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Centene by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.0% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 0.7 %

Centene stock opened at $75.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.56. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $63.45 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CNC. Barclays cut their price target on Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.