Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Has $7.44 Million Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 52.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,770 shares of the company's stock after selling 135,790 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $7,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,825,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Centene by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 5,720 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $79,370,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,582 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 61,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,752,000 after purchasing an additional 19,815 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.8%

CNC stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $57.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,023,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,778,433. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $28.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20, 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.28.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.