Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 2,753 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,753 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Centene by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in Centene by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Centene by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 1.0 %

Centene stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.10. 976,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,355,198. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.11 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Centene Company 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.