Polar Capital Holdings Plc Sells 79,326 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc trimmed its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,178 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,326 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc's holdings in Centene were worth $11,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Centene by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.77.

Centene Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CNC traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.31. 1,046,694 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,795,957. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.44. The firm has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm 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 business'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 posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene Company 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.