Ieq Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 1,474,796 Centene Corporation $CNC

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,474,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,667,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth $257,279,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Argus raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $64.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.24 and a 12-month high of $69.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.