Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys Shares of 153,275 Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 153,275 Centene shares worth approximately $9.84 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.63% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with one Strong Buy, eight Buy, nine Hold, and two Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $70.05.
• Centene reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.51 in earnings per share versus the $1.09 estimate and $53.58 billion in revenue, up 9.9% year over year. The stock opened at $64.32, while General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares at an average price of $66.90.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 153,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,839,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Trading Down 0.7%

CNC stock opened at $64.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.53. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $28.24 and a one year high of $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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.

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.