LMR Partners LLP Takes $1.53 Million Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 25,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,529,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $59.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $29.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.59 and its 200 day moving average is $60.47. 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 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.77.

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.