Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 697,277 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.70% of Centene worth $554,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oracle Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $3,936,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC increased its stake in Centene by 451.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 181,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,490,000 after acquiring an additional 148,900 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $1,100,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Centene by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,356,000 after acquiring an additional 194,300 shares during the period. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC increased its stake in Centene by 161.1% during the 3rd quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 91,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,281,000 after acquiring an additional 56,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Centene from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.18.

Centene Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE CNC opened at $59.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $60.76. The company has a market cap of $29.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.44 and its 200 day moving average is $42.41.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.