Ninety One UK Ltd Takes $23.38 Million Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 655,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,378,000. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.13% of Centene at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 248.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 265.8% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Centene during the second quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Centene from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Centene from $25.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays set a $44.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.44.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $41.18 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a PE ratio of -3.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Centene 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.