Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 78,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,036,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $64.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.33 and a 200-day moving average of $53.25. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.24 and a 1-year high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 target price on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

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.