Rhumbline Advisers Boosts Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,160,193 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,568 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.23% of Centene worth $70,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Centene by 8.8% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Centene by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $54.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,002,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,882,027. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.19 and a 200 day moving average of $60.13. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $54.01 and a 1-year high of $80.59.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CNC. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.31.

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.