Swedbank AB Reduces Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Swedbank AB lowered its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,132,826 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,514,478 shares during the period. Centene comprises about 0.9% of Swedbank AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Swedbank AB owned approximately 1.90% of Centene worth $671,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $1,325,441,000. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Centene by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881,450 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Centene by 60.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 535.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548,961 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Centene by 375.1% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,943,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,826 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.36.

Centene Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:CNC traded down $0.40 on Friday, reaching $78.11. 2,348,524 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,494,143. The company has a market capitalization of $41.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.73.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS 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.