AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Acquires 268,871 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,548,158 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 268,871 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.31% of Centene worth $55,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 11,011.1% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Centene by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 248.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.81.

Centene Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $41.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of -3.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The business had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.