14,853 Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Bought by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Centene by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,046,000 after acquiring an additional 98,298 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 20,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after buying an additional 16,304 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Centene by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after buying an additional 7,385 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 189.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 15,819 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Centene by 7.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,307,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $62.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $61.62 and a 52 week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released 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 net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.58.

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.