Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Acquired by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 61.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 112,217 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42,496 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE CNC opened at $62.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.31. The company has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.09. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $63.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $41.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.47.

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.