Swedbank AB Sells 23,017 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Swedbank AB cut its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,500,832 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,017 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Centene were worth $53,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Centene by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,396,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,169,768,000 after purchasing an additional 869,706 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,435,997,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,186,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,586,000 after purchasing an additional 514,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 2.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,208,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,547,000 after acquiring an additional 279,637 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Centene by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,725,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $636,482,000 after purchasing an additional 633,946 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.7%

Centene stock opened at $39.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of -3.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $66.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.95.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a positive return on equity of 7.82% and a negative net margin of 2.85%.The company had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $41.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Centene from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.44.

Centene Company 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.