Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 11,636 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,822 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,636 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $12,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Centene by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Centene by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Centene by 245.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the company's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Centene from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.87.

Centene Price Performance

CNC traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.28. The company had a trading volume of 33,741,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,457,554. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.30 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The company has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 4.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.04.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.