Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,093,726 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,449 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $35,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price target on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.22.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $68.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $69.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced 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 business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.