Achmea Investment Management B.V. Acquires 167,621 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 167.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 267,487 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 167,621 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Centene were worth $17,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $127,000. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,844,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Centene by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 736,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,659,000 after buying an additional 142,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Centene by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $73.47 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 0.95 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. Barclays cut their price target on Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.75.

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.