GTS Securities LLC Purchases 5,366 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

GTS Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 132.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,422 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.77.

Centene Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $56.48. 3,525,574 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,888,823. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day moving average price is $60.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.24. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.