Centene Corporation $CNC Position Lifted by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 1,878.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,320 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,192 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aspiriant LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at about $158,000. Howard Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at about $3,618,000. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth about $3,270,000. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth about $218,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $70.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.71 billion, a PE ratio of -6.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.13. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.63 and a 52 week high of $71.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CNC. UBS Group set a $79.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.