Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 19,250 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 138,210 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,250 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Centene by 1,867.3% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Centene by 3.5% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 92,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,027,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.2% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 122,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after buying an additional 6,020 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 50.9% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 3,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $66.02 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $32.60 billion, a PE ratio of -5.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.18. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $69.29.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNC. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.61.

Centene Company 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.