California State Teachers Retirement System Has $2.96 Billion Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 5,937.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,149,208 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,384,854 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of Centene worth $2,962,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Bayban acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Centene’s improved 2026 outlook remains a key catalyst. The company raised revenue guidance and increased its adjusted earnings outlook after reporting strength in Marketplace performance, Medicaid trends, premium tax revenue and state-directed payments. Centene rises as investors weigh stronger guidance and a recent rebound setup
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein reaffirmed its Buy rating, reinforcing the bullish view that Centene’s profitability recovery and operating momentum can continue. Bernstein Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Centene
• Positive Sentiment: CNC was included in Zacks’ Rank #1 Strong Buy growth-stock list, potentially attracting additional momentum-oriented investors. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for September 10th
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Centene has outperformed the broader healthcare sector, while institutional activity was mixed but included significant second-quarter additions from Wellington Management, Sixth Street Partners and Victory Capital. Centene Stock: Is CNC Outperforming the Healthcare Sector?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is generally constructive, but the reported median 12-month price target of $62 is below the current trading level, suggesting that some of the anticipated recovery may already be reflected in the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Centene insiders have reported three open-market sales and no purchases over the past six months. The company also disclosed that CFO succession will be needed when the current CFO retires at the end of 2026, although no change to operating guidance was announced.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $65.40 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.63 and a 12 month high of $69.36. The company has a market cap of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a managed-care company that provides health insurance and related healthcare services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug plans, coverage for individuals and families through the health insurance marketplace, and health services for military families and veterans.

The company markets several healthcare brands, including Ambetter, which provides marketplace plans, and Wellcare, which offers Medicare products.