Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,687 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,145 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Centene were worth $3,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Centene by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 5.4% during 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 holdings in Centene by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $61.89. 3,249,457 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,861,859. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $30.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day moving average is $60.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.43.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Argus cut Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.