Leonteq Securities AG Takes Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 76.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356,152 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its position in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Centene by 32.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,716,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,989,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,674 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 34.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,290,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881,041 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $57.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.39, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $60.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.51.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Centene from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.59.

About Centene

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.