Panagora Asset Management Inc. Buys 806,899 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 184.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,244,375 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 806,899 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.25% of Centene worth $51,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oracle Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,936,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 451.2% in the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 181,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,490,000 after buying an additional 148,900 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 161.1% in the third quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 91,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,281,000 after buying an additional 56,730 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in Centene by 22.1% in the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,356,000 after buying an additional 194,300 shares during the period. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 500.0% in the third quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC now owns 48,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 40,815 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Down 2.8%

CNC opened at $63.34 on Tuesday. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.55. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.53. The firm has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a PE ratio of -4.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.24.

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.