E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Invests $200,000 in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. QV Investors Inc. raised its position in Centene by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after buying an additional 33,350 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Centene by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,239,000 after buying an additional 231,931 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Centene by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,941,000 after buying an additional 68,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 452,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,761,000 after acquiring an additional 17,120 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $77.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.97. The stock has a market cap of $41.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.23.

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.