Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Acquired by AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs lifted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 16.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,479 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,667 shares during the period. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs’ holdings in Centene were worth $1,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth about $77,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Centene by 78.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its stake in Centene by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE CNC opened at $34.07 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $70.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by 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.