National Pension Service Acquires 25,803 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

National Pension Service increased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,187,974 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,803 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.22% of Centene worth $88,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Centene by 8.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,351,000 after acquiring an additional 704,684 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $414,918,000 after buying an additional 408,525 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Centene by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,288,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,253,000 after acquiring an additional 187,958 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $274,274,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Centene by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,664,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,975,000 after acquiring an additional 117,243 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of CNC stock traded up $1.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $77.65. 3,081,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,180,164. The firm has a market cap of $41.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.48 and a 200 day moving average of $74.97.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CNC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.23.

Centene Company 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.