Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Scharf Investments LLC

Scharf Investments LLC increased its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 20.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,395,448 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 404,067 shares during the quarter. Centene makes up approximately 4.4% of Scharf Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned approximately 0.48% of Centene worth $145,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in 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 during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Centene stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $53.54. 6,429,886 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,957,807. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.93 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The stock has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $57.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.62.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The firm 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 firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Centene in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.71.

About Centene

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.