Centene Corporation $CNC Stock: Machina Capital S.A.S. Boosts Stake

Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 87.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 55,357 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,760 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Centene by 21.8% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 256,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,936,000 after acquiring an additional 45,852 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 12,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 68,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 30,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 7,513 shares during the period. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $641,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $70.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.07. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.63 and a 1 year high of $78.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.24.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $50.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.12 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CNC. Raymond James Financial set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 price target on Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.80.

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a U.S. health care company that provides managed care and related services, primarily for people enrolled in government-sponsored health programs. Its offerings include Medicaid and Medicare plans, as well as health insurance sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Centene serves members through health plans and a network of health care providers. Its businesses include Ambetter, which offers marketplace health plans, and Wellcare, which provides Medicare-related coverage.