Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 25.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 814,388 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 167,680 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.16% of Centene worth $50,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parcion Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 18.0% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 11.1% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 17,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 1,714 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 10.1% in the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 92.1% in the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 44,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 21,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $79.00 price target on Centene in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Centene from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.60.

Centene Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $68.42 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.63 and a fifty-two week high of $72.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $33.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.48. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The company had revenue of $50.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More Centene News

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise price targets. Wells Fargo lifted its target from $69 to $75 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating. JPMorgan also raised its target from $67 to $75, and UBS increased its target from $70 to $78. These revisions suggest analysts see additional value after Centene’s earnings update, even though the ratings remain cautious. Wells Fargo analyst update JPMorgan analyst update UBS analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results and higher guidance support the stock. Centene exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, and its quarterly revenue increased year over year. The company’s guidance increase reinforces expectations for improved profitability and prompted additional analyst optimism. Centene Q3 earnings and guidance Centene guidance increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings remain restrained. Wells Fargo and UBS retain “equal weight” or “neutral” recommendations, indicating that the higher targets reflect moderate appreciation potential rather than a strong conviction that CNC is significantly undervalued. Centene analyst price target update
• Negative Sentiment: Membership pressure remains a key risk. Coverage has highlighted lingering membership challenges and uncertainty over whether Centene can maintain a stable health benefits ratio. These issues could offset the benefit of stronger earnings and guidance if they pressure margins or future revenue growth. Centene membership pressures Centene health benefits ratio analysis

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.