Norges Bank Makes New $332.04 Million Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Norges Bank bought a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,069,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $332,044,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in Centene by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 8.0% in the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Centene by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $61.97 on Tuesday. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $62.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.60 billion, a PE ratio of -4.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.66.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price target on Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $58.00 price target on Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.94.

Centene 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.