Systematic Financial Management LP Sells 5,775 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Systematic Financial Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,907 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,775 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP's holdings in Centene were worth $600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Centene by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company's stock worth $13,398,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company's stock worth $2,189,000 after buying an additional 14,671 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd increased its stake in shares of Centene by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Centene by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,082,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,130 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNC. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.77.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.87. 2,165,052 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,870,923. The company has a market capitalization of $27.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $60.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.