Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 16,068 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 48.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,468 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,068 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $3,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,536,167,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock worth $639,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Centene by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after buying an additional 1,578,917 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Centene by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,760,000 after acquiring an additional 443,121 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Centene in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company 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, Centene currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.71.

Centene Trading Down 0.9%

CNC stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,711,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,934,715. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $52.93 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.69.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS 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.