Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $1.02 Million Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 66.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,715 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,844 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 6,819 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 106,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,382,000 after buying an additional 2,963 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America raised Centene from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Centene from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Centene from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.82.

Centene Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $55.97 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.89. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $64.15. The company has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.