Saudi Central Bank Acquires 16,282 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Saudi Central Bank increased its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 89.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,424 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,282 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 564.6% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm’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 value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $66.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.24 and a fifty-two week high of $69.36. The stock has a market cap of $33.06 billion, a PE ratio of -6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.60 and a 200-day moving average of $54.46.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Centene

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.