Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 286,205 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,118 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.05% of Centene worth $21,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QV Investors Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,350 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in Centene by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,239,000 after acquiring an additional 231,931 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Centene by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after acquiring an additional 68,854 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Centene by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 186,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,817,000 after acquiring an additional 14,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $75.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CNC. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays initiated coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.