Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stock Position Lessened by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $28,140,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $78.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

Centene 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.