Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Purchases 5,425 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,425 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Centene by 5.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,091,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,393,000 after buying an additional 536,508 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306,796 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,810,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,045,000 after purchasing an additional 143,573 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Centene by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,433,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,134,000 after purchasing an additional 28,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Centene by 23.7% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,055,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,225,000 after purchasing an additional 776,331 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $34.07 on Monday. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $70.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.