ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,642 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,536 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $5,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Centene by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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, Barclays cut their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.77.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.43. 5,205,572 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,894,312. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.76 and a 200 day moving average of $60.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. 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.