Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 428,979 Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 428,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,988,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.09% of Centene at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 33,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,023,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 78,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,736,000 after buying an additional 25,792 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 13,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Centene by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 206,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,528,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.77.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.36. 6,738,320 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,872,125. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.21. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast 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.