Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 1,627 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 21.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,318 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Centene were worth $618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 79,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,900,000 after buying an additional 4,618 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Centene by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 947,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,320,000 after buying an additional 51,878 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $495,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 88,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,603,000 after purchasing an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Baird R W upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $75.63 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.45 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current 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.