DNB Asset Management AS Trims Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

DNB Asset Management AS decreased its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 231,612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 104,944 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Centene by 455.6% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC raised its stake in Centene by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 152.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.82.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $58.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $28.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.86. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $62.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced 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 negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

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.