UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 608,249 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $354,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Centene Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $64.91 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.33 and a 200 day moving average of $53.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.24 and a 1-year high of $69.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.07 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.