Norinchukin Bank The Increases Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Norinchukin Bank The lifted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,577 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Ossiam grew its holdings in Centene by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 22,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 10,871 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Centene by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 521,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,574,000 after purchasing an additional 19,435 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Centene by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,107,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 16,996 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Centene by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 52,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 2.1 %

Centene stock opened at $60.70 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.23. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Argus downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.69.

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.