Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $3.62 Million Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 48,733 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Centene by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its stake in Centene by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 271,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,118,000 after purchasing an additional 104,416 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 456,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $75.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Centene Company 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.