Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Amundi

Amundi lowered its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,008,407 shares of the company's stock after selling 865,580 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.61% of Centene worth $193,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Centene by 5,937.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,149,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,962,318,000 after acquiring an additional 45,384,854 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Centene in the second quarter worth about $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,308,518,000 after acquiring an additional 17,143,904 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 423.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,757,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $332,044,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNC. Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Centene Trading Down 3.7%

Centene stock opened at $64.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.84 and a 1 year high of $69.36. The firm has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $65.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.61.

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

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Centene

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CNC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.