Centene Corporation $CNC Stock: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stake

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 21.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 256,541 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,852 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Centene worth $15,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in Centene by 2.7% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 12,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 68,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 30,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 7,513 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $641,000. Finally, Running Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Centene by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 163,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.5%

CNC opened at $70.53 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.24. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.63 and a fifty-two week high of $78.08.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $50.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.12 billion. Centene had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Centene from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Argus raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Centene from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.80.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a U.S. health care company that provides managed care and related services, primarily for people enrolled in government-sponsored health programs. Its offerings include Medicaid and Medicare plans, as well as health insurance sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Centene serves members through health plans and a network of health care providers. Its businesses include Ambetter, which offers marketplace health plans, and Wellcare, which provides Medicare-related coverage.