Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 471,712 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,100 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.09% of Centene worth $28,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th 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 period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Centene by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.77.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $59.47. 2,136,636 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,749,343. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.71. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $29.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Centene's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Centene

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.