Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 54.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,162 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNC. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 564.6% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $66.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.24 and a 1-year high of $69.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.18. The firm has a market cap of $33.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNC. Argus upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.