Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,393 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,199 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Centene were worth $6,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,435,997,000. Packer & Co Ltd acquired a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,487,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth $65,105,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Centene by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,396,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,169,768,000 after purchasing an additional 869,706 shares during the period. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC increased its stake in Centene by 102.5% in the third quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 1,471,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,521,000 after purchasing an additional 744,926 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $43.06 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.70. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $21.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The business had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays set a $44.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.88.

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.