Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 21.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,172 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,998 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Centene were worth $6,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.71.

Centene Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE CNC traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.08. 4,751,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,912,068. 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 company has a market cap of $27.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.99 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $58.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.81.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. Centene's revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.