Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 7.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 207,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,711 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Centene were worth $6,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Bayban bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.61.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $66.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.76 and a 200 day moving average of $48.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $32.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.07. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.