Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stake Reduced by Argent Capital Management LLC

Argent Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 1.0% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Centene by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Centene by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $78.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.87. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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.