Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 150,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,115,000.

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

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $61.27 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.06. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNC. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens lowered their target price on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

Centene 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.