DnB Asset Management AS Has $16.50 Million Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 210.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,396 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 184,723 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS owned about 0.05% of Centene worth $16,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its position in shares of Centene by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $59.96 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.79. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The stock has a market cap of $29.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Centene’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 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.