QV Investors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

QV Investors Inc. reduced its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 307,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,360 shares during the quarter. Centene comprises about 1.5% of QV Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. QV Investors Inc. owned about 0.06% of Centene worth $19,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth $515,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Centene by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 46,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 4,594 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Centene by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,173,000 after purchasing an additional 608,249 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in shares of Centene by 4.5% in the second quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 23,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 9.3% in the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 14,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $64.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.35. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.24 and a 12 month high of $69.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on CNC shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.05.

About Centene

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.