Parrish Capital LLC Buys 8,422 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Parrish Capital LLC bought a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 8,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 423.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,805,000 after buying an additional 10,757,914 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 12.4% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,173,000 after buying an additional 608,249 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $285,713,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $257,279,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.38. 1,484,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,706,535. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.14. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $31.63 and a 1-year high of $69.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of -5.87, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. Centene’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.