LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 85.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 216,928 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100,039 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $13,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Centene by 172.7% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $60.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.44. The company has a market capitalization of $30.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Argus cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Centene Company 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.