iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 43,334 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 95.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,334 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Centene by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 74,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,645,000 after buying an additional 6,337 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 73,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after buying an additional 2,656 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Centene by 212.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 10,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Centene by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 73,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,510,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $58.88 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

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.