Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Buys 52,641 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 52,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,270,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at $218,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $8,695,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 27.4% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth approximately $140,000. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $233,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CNC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $69.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.63 and a fifty-two week high of $71.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $65.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.67.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. Centene’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.