Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 1,627 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 21.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,318 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Centene were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in Centene by 154.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the second quarter valued at $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $75.63 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $63.45 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.51. The firm has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

Centene Company Profile

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.