Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Makes New $3 Million Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 46,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,000,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Centene in the 1st quarter worth approximately $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 80.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 4,315 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 20.3% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 6.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Centene by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,590,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CNC. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Argus raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho set a $63.00 target price on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $65.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.63. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.24 and a 52 week high of $69.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.29, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced 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. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene 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.