Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 284,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,279,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Centene by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth about $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,338,000 after acquiring an additional 697,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its stake in Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860,630 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.
Centene Trading Up 1.4%
NYSE CNC opened at $65.29 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.01. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.24 and a 12 month high of $69.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.08.
Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.16) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
About Centene
Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.
Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.
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