Humankind Investments LLC Grows Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Humankind Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 42.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,744 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the quarter. Humankind Investments LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 3.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 621,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,799,000 after acquiring an additional 22,233 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Centene by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 109,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,631,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Centene by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 383,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,234,000 after buying an additional 125,465 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 7,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $62.82 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.77.

Centene Company Profile

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.