Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 11,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at about $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. increased its position in Centene by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $257,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 1.1%

CNC stock opened at $64.92 on Wednesday. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.24 and a 1-year high of $69.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.08 and its 200-day moving average is $52.80. The firm has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.Centene’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,957,937.44. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.