Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes $9.76 Million Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 152,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,764,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,279,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 45,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 24,411 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,222,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,514,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,134,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 305,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,957,937.44. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $64.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.40. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.24 and a 1 year high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.