AIA Group Ltd Sells 25,813 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

AIA Group Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 27.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,813 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter worth $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 20.3% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Centene by 6.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Centene by 0.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,590,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $66.29 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.90. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $69.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CNC. Zacks Research cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $63.00 target price on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.61.

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.