Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,711 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Centene were worth $6,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Centene by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.61.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $66.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.73 billion, a PE ratio of -5.04, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.76 and its 200 day moving average is $48.85. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current 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.