Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Purchases 38,775 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 91.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,053 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,775 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Centene were worth $4,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Centene by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.6 %

CNC stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.82. The stock had a trading volume of 4,416,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,812,148. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $31.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.50. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.77.

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.