Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) is Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C's 4th Largest Position

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C grew its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,671,921 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,732 shares during the quarter. Centene makes up 3.1% of Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C owned 0.53% of Centene worth $161,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 73.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.77.

Centene Stock Down 4.7%

Centene stock traded down $2.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $59.93. The stock had a trading volume of 4,224,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,770,474. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $60.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The company'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.

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.