Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank boosted its stake in Centene by 141.9% in Q4 to 445,561 shares (about $18.34 million), and institutional investors now own roughly 93.63% of the company.
• Centene has a consensus analyst rating of Hold with an average price target of $42, after mixed updates (e.g., Morgan Stanley raised its target to $45 while JPMorgan cut to $41); analyst breakdown is 3 Buys, 14 Holds and 3 Sells.
• In the most recent quarter Centene reported a ($1.19) EPS that slightly beat estimates and revenue of $49.73 billion (up 21.9% YoY); the company set FY2026 guidance at 3.00 EPS and sell-side forecasts average about 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 141.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 445,561 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 261,388 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.09% of Centene worth $18,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 455.6% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at $27,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Mizuho set a $41.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Argus raised shares of Centene to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.00.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $38.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $38.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.05. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $64.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.41 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. Centene's revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene 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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