Blue Capital Inc. Takes Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Blue Capital Inc. bought 43,606 Centene shares worth approximately $2.8 million in the second quarter, making CNC its 14th-largest holding and about 1.8% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 93.63% of Centene’s stock. Meanwhile, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares for roughly $3.1 million.
• Centene reported strong quarterly results, earning $2.51 per share versus the $1.09 consensus estimate and generating $53.58 billion in revenue. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $70.05.

Blue Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 43,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,799,000. Centene accounts for about 1.8% of Blue Capital Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after buying an additional 190,334 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company's stock worth $1,308,518,000 after acquiring an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.05.

Centene Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $64.94 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.24 and a 12-month high of $69.36. The company has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $64.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The firm's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene's offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.

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