Meridian Management Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Meridian Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,721 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Centene makes up approximately 1.2% of Meridian Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $1,325,441,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth about $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P grew its stake in Centene by 172.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Centene by 0.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,117,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $75.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $63.45 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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.