9,143 Shares in Centene Corporation $CNC Bought by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $587,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after acquiring an additional 190,334 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,338,000 after purchasing an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $64.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.73 billion, a PE ratio of -6.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.31. 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 52-week low of $28.24 and a 52-week high of $69.36.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CNC. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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.