Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Acquires 340,633 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 4,613.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 348,017 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 340,633 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.07% of Centene worth $21,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC raised its position in Centene by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,398,000 after purchasing an additional 10,515 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,189,000 after acquiring an additional 14,671 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd grew its stake in Centene by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Centene by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock worth $97,082,000 after buying an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,130 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 5,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus lowered Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.77.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC traded down $2.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,112,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,805,810. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.48. The stock has a market cap of $29.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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