Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Makes New $88.04 Million Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,371,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,038,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.28% of Centene as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Centene Stock Up 0.5%

CNC stock opened at $65.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $32.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.98. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.24 and a 1-year high of $69.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at $19,957,937.44. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.