Intech Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 109,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 246,516 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Centene by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,208,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,547,000 after purchasing an additional 279,637 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,091,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,393,000 after buying an additional 536,508 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,820,000 after buying an additional 3,306,796 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,810,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,045,000 after acquiring an additional 143,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Centene by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,433,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,134,000 after acquiring an additional 28,462 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:CNC opened at $36.40 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.75. The stock has a market cap of $17.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $66.81.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Centene from $25.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Centene from $41.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.47.

Centene Company 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.