Westpac Banking Corp Purchases Shares of 12,512 Centene Corporation $CNC

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $803,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Centene by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $64.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.40. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.24 and a 1 year high of $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,957,937.44. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

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.