Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Makes New Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 99,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,998,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 31,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after buying an additional 7,465 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Centene by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 51,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Centene by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 839,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,636,000 after purchasing an additional 72,326 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $321,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of Centene by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $60.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.04 and its 200 day moving average is $62.88.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

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.