SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 83,118 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 326.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,596 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 83,118 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $6,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,536,167,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Centene by 1,788.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,582 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Centene by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock worth $639,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Centene by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company's stock worth $228,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,265 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.71.

Centene Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.80 on Monday, reaching $54.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,004,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,895,611. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. 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 $54.01 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $59.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.92.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share 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.