Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Acquired by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 57,063 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,612 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $1,325,441,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in Centene by 172.8% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after acquiring an additional 6,881,450 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,033,000 after purchasing an additional 32,427 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Centene by 60.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $1.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $78.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,244,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,489,834. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $41.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.75 and its 200 day moving average is $73.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.36.

About Centene

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.