Bellevue Group AG Purchases 53,092 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Bellevue Group AG increased its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 61.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,310 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,092 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in Centene were worth $7,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,396,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,169,768,000 after purchasing an additional 869,706 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,435,997,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Centene by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,186,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,586,000 after acquiring an additional 514,600 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 2.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,208,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,547,000 after acquiring an additional 279,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,725,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $636,482,000 after purchasing an additional 633,946 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $40.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.78, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.81.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.50 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays set a $44.00 target price on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.44.

About Centene

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.