Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $54.67 Million Stock Position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 7.2%, now holding 900,543 shares valued at approximately $54.67 million.
• Centene reported a quarterly earnings per share of (0.16), significantly missing the consensus estimate of $0.23, although revenue increased by 22.4% year-over-year.
• Several analysts downgraded Centene's stock rating, with Wells Fargo reducing its target price from $72.00 to $30.00.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 900,543 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,654 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.18% of Centene worth $54,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after buying an additional 1,578,917 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Centene by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,760,000 after buying an additional 443,121 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Centene by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,055,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,225,000 after buying an additional 776,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,004,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,092,000 after buying an additional 200,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America cut Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC traded down $0.34 on Monday, hitting $25.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,634,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,916,928. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. Centene's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.