Visionary Wealth Advisors Sells 10,866 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Visionary Wealth Advisors cut its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 41.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,173 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,866 shares during the quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Centene were worth $919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $1,536,167,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Centene by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,952 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Centene by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,760,000 after purchasing an additional 443,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:CNC opened at $61.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.44. The company has a market cap of $30.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Argus lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.77.

Centene Company Profile

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.