334,628 Shares in Centene Corporation $CNC Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 334,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,480,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Centene at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Centene by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock opened at $65.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.16. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.24 and a 12-month high of $69.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $32.22 billion, a PE ratio of -6.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price target on Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.