UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 275.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,785 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,784 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Centene by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 10,867 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Centene by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 5,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Centene by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 351,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,059,000 after purchasing an additional 64,693 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $118,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 1.9 %

CNC traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $64.87. 5,344,033 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,402,461. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.89. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.