Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 1,548,961 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 535.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,548,961 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $136,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QV Investors Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after buying an additional 33,350 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,239,000 after purchasing an additional 231,931 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Centene by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after buying an additional 68,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Centene by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 186,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,817,000 after acquiring an additional 14,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

Centene Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CNC stock traded up $0.85 on Monday, hitting $76.00. The stock had a trading volume of 820,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,049,674. The firm has a market cap of $40.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.38. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.65.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.