Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 839,889 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 72,326 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.17% of Centene worth $51,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Harris Associates L P boosted its position in Centene by 5.7% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company's stock worth $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,255,000 after purchasing an additional 194,566 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,803,437 shares of the company's stock worth $230,412,000 after acquiring an additional 130,895 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Centene by 15.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company's stock worth $241,126,000 after purchasing an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

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Centene Stock Up 0.1 %

CNC stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 515,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,430,248. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm 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%. Centene's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens reduced 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.