Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 54,592 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC cut its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 70.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,592 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 26.6% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth $304,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,048,000. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter worth about $236,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $42.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Centene from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.44.

Centene Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $40.52 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.59. The company has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a PE ratio of -3.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.47. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $66.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a positive return on equity of 7.82% and a negative net margin of 2.85%.The firm had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene Company Profile

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.