Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC Invests $13.50 Million in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 222,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,498,000. Centene accounts for about 2.2% of Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Centene by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $167,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 10,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock opened at $55.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.99. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $54.01 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Centene in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.71.

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.