Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 20,232 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 490,801 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,232 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.09% of Centene worth $32,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter worth $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 154.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.36.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $78.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,197,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,502,248. The company has a market capitalization of $41.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.70. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centene 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.