Perigon Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $956,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 80.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 4,315 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 20.3% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,590,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Centene Stock Up 1.4%

CNC opened at $65.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.24 and a 12 month high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene 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.