Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,189 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 327,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,298,000 after acquiring an additional 112,605 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,046,000 after acquiring an additional 98,298 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 20,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 16,304 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 7,385 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 189.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 15,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $75.61 on Monday. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $63.45 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CNC. Baird R W upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

About Centene

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.