Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,166,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,883,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.24% of Centene as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth $159,011,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Centene by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,171,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472,341 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $64.66 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.95 and a 200-day moving average of $52.16. The company has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.24 and a 1 year high of $69.36.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.