Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stock Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 47.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,570 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,162 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Centene were worth $8,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after buying an additional 4,202 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of Centene by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 9,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $693,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $57.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.51. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $60.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a PE ratio of -4.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.06.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $41.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.59.

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.