Royal Bank of Canada Has $45.57 Million Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 31.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 752,249 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 182,022 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.15% of Centene worth $45,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,398,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,189,000 after buying an additional 14,671 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,082,000 after buying an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 5,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $1,272,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.77.

Centene Trading Up 1.3%

CNC traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.15. The stock had a trading volume of 856,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,878,688. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $60.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $80.59.

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. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

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.