Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 59.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,353 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,894 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Centene were worth $961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Centene by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its holdings in Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Centene by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,002,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,456,000 after acquiring an additional 603,585 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

More Centene News

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results and raised outlook: Centene reported adjusted earnings of $2.51 per share, well above the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion. The insurer also raised its 2026 earnings outlook to at least $4.80 per share, citing contained medical costs. Centene Lifts 2026 Outlook as Insurer Contains Medical Costs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support has strengthened: Zacks Research upgraded CNC from “hold” to “strong buy,” while Truist maintained its buy rating. Robert W. Baird also expects the stock to rise, providing additional support for the recent rally. Zacks.com Truist Financial Keeps Their Buy Rating on Centene
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and valuation remain favorable: Zacks included Centene among its Rank #1 momentum stocks, and other analyses describe CNC as potentially undervalued following its earnings recovery. These reports may attract momentum and value-oriented investors. Best Momentum Stock to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative investment appeal: A comparison with UnitedHealth favors UNH because of its diversified platform, Optum growth and artificial-intelligence investments. The assessment does not identify a new negative development at Centene but could limit CNC’s appeal among managed-care investors. UnitedHealth vs. Centene
• Negative Sentiment: Medicaid and membership concerns persist: Coverage highlights declining membership and ongoing Medicaid-related pressure, which could challenge revenue growth and margins even as medical-cost trends improve. Medicaid Weighs on Centene

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Centene Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $62.23 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $69.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.96, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.27.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The firm 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800- EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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.