Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Decreases Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,400 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Centene by 455.6% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in Centene by 152.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNC. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.24.

Centene Trading Up 4.5%

NYSE CNC opened at $65.11 on Tuesday. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $65.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.55. The stock has a market cap of $32.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.09.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share 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.