Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 108,354 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 525,438 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 108,354 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $21,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AXQ Capital LP increased its stake in Centene by 454.6% in the fourth quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 35,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 29,388 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $392,000. Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $794,000. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $251,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.47.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $62.35 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $63.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.75, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.