Korea Investment CORP Buys New Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,003,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,395,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CNC. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at $19,957,937.44. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CNC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price target on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Centene Stock Up 1.2%

Centene stock opened at $64.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.24 and a twelve month high of $69.36. The company has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.08.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Centene Company Profile

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.