Evolve Private Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 42,698 Centene Corporation $CNC

Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 42,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,741,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 price objective on Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 305,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,957,937.44. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE CNC opened at $64.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.40. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $28.24 and a one year high of $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

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

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.