Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases 25,760 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 87.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,357 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,760 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Centene by 423.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,805,000 after buying an additional 10,757,914 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 12.4% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,173,000 after acquiring an additional 608,249 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Centene by 21.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,518,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,818,000 after acquiring an additional 802,756 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at about $285,713,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction 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 represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CNC. Weiss Ratings raised Centene from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Centene from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Centene from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.80.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $70.53 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $66.94 and its 200 day moving average is $56.24. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.63 and a 12 month high of $78.08. The company has a market capitalization of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.48. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The business had revenue of $50.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation is a U.S. health care company that provides managed care and related services, primarily for people enrolled in government-sponsored health programs. Its offerings include Medicaid and Medicare plans, as well as health insurance sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Centene serves members through health plans and a network of health care providers. Its businesses include Ambetter, which offers marketplace health plans, and Wellcare, which provides Medicare-related coverage.