Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stake Boosted by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,481 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P boosted its position in Centene by 172.8% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,170,000 after acquiring an additional 6,881,450 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Centene by 60.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 898,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,710,000 after purchasing an additional 386,379 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth about $29,800,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CNC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $75.35 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $40.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $63.45 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Centene

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.