Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 55.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,103 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,108 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Centene were worth $2,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 621,664 shares of the company's stock worth $46,799,000 after acquiring an additional 22,233 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Centene by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 109,465 shares of the company's stock worth $6,631,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 383,522 shares of the company's stock worth $23,234,000 after acquiring an additional 125,465 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,501 shares of the company's stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 7,814 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.77.

Centene Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:CNC traded up $0.59 on Wednesday, reaching $59.56. The stock had a trading volume of 5,846,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,843,305. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.59 and a 200 day moving average of $60.47. The stock has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $46.62 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share 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.