Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 44.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,317,738 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 715,205 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.47% of Centene worth $140,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.87.

Centene Stock Down 40.3%

Shares of Centene stock traded down $22.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.80. The company had a trading volume of 92,881,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,311,682. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.78 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The firm's fifty day moving average is $57.55 and its 200-day moving average is $59.57. The company has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. Centene's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate 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.