Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 195.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,697 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,196 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $3,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,536,167,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $639,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,952 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,578,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Centene by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,760,000 after purchasing an additional 443,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $55.20. The company had a trading volume of 3,457,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,897,854. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $54.01 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.43 and a 200-day moving average of $59.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. 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. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Centene in a report on Monday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.71.

Centene 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.