Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 183,629 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 47.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 573,631 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 183,629 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.12% of Centene worth $34,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Centene by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 60,618 shares of the company's stock worth $3,680,000 after purchasing an additional 4,918 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 16.4% during the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,915 shares of the company's stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Centene by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 14,610 shares of the company's stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 4,393 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in shares of Centene by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $282,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:CNC traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.28. 33,741,422 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,457,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.30 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The stock has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 4.96, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.93 and a 200 day moving average of $59.04.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.87.

Centene Profile

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.