Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Holdings Lowered by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,301 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harris Associates L P purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at $274,274,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 535.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548,961 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Centene by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after acquiring an additional 704,684 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,161,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,395,000 after purchasing an additional 648,620 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lifted its position in shares of Centene by 47.5% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 1,990,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,071,000 after purchasing an additional 641,000 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.23.

Centene Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $75.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.95. The company has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.11 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

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.