Earnest Partners LLC Has $180.80 Million Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,984,500 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,040,780 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.59% of Centene worth $180,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,398,000 after acquiring an additional 10,515 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in shares of Centene by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,189,000 after buying an additional 14,671 shares during the last quarter. Polianta Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Centene by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,082,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,130 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.77.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.83. 2,782,219 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,757,889. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $60.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.62. The company has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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.