Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $74.88 Million Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,166,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,883,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Centene by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Bayban acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,957,937.44. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $64.66 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.95 and a 200-day moving average of $52.16. The stock has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.24 and a 52-week high of $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.05.

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.