Geode Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,471,047 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185,915 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $754,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Centene by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Centene by 24.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 28,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after buying an additional 5,716 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its holdings in Centene by 273.5% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 44,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 32,428 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Centene by 21.5% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

Centene Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $60.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.44. The company has a market capitalization of $30.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.