Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 11,340 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 249,135 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,340 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Centene were worth $15,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Centene by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 16,108 shares in the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $610,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 216,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,142,000 after acquiring an additional 100,039 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 32.3% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Centene by 30.0% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 708,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,026,000 after purchasing an additional 163,462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.31.

Centene Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $25.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 6.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.50 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.32.

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

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.