Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Holdings Boosted by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 60.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 0.98% of Centene worth $409,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $1,325,441,000. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in shares of Centene by 172.8% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,170,000 after acquiring an additional 6,881,450 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 535.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548,961 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Centene by 375.1% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,943,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Centene by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,161,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,395,000 after acquiring an additional 648,620 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.93.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $5.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.10. The company had a trading volume of 9,637,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,466,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.76. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The firm has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.62. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.