Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 10,757,914 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 423.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,757,914 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Centene were worth $853,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $64.91 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.33 and a 200 day moving average of $53.25. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.24 and a 52 week high of $69.36. The company has a market cap of $32.06 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 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 (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Argus raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.05.

Centene 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.