AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys 29,213 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,577,371 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,213 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $64,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in Centene by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 64,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,639,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $662,000. Plancorp LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 15,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $586,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:CNC opened at $58.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $62.21. The company has a market cap of $29.05 billion, a PE ratio of -4.48, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.00 and a 200-day moving average of $40.68.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Centene from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Centene from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Centene from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.82.

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.