Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 21.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,541 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,852 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Centene were worth $15,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 423.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,757,914 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,173,000 after purchasing an additional 608,249 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,518,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,818,000 after purchasing an additional 802,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth about $285,713,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $70.53 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.94 and a 200-day moving average of $56.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $31.63 and a twelve month high of $78.08. The firm has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.48. Centene had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a U.S. health care company that provides managed care and related services, primarily for people enrolled in government-sponsored health programs. Its offerings include Medicaid and Medicare plans, as well as health insurance sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Centene serves members through health plans and a network of health care providers. Its businesses include Ambetter, which offers marketplace health plans, and Wellcare, which provides Medicare-related coverage.