Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,093,726 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,449 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Centene worth $35,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:CNC opened at $68.38 on Tuesday. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $69.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.22.

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.