Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 30.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 432,698 shares of the company’s stock after selling 188,574 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Centene were worth $14,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Bayban purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Centene in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.78.

Centene Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of CNC opened at $67.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.80. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $69.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.16, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company Profile

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.