Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 12,685 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,659 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,685 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Centene by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after buying an additional 190,334 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 76.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,885,000 after buying an additional 6,356,152 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its stake in Centene by 184.0% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Centene by 32.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,716,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,989,000 after buying an additional 2,111,674 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $62.35 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $63.50. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.31. The company has a market cap of $30.79 billion, a PE ratio of -4.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Barclays increased their price target on Centene from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $58.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.47.

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.