Diversify Advisory Services LLC Invests $826,000 in Centene Corporation $CNC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the second quarter worth about $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Centene by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its position in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of CNC opened at $64.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.24 and a 52 week high of $69.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.15, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.96 and a 200-day moving average of $52.31.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 305,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

About Centene

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.