Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,141 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,460 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Centene were worth $5,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 10,515 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Centene by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock worth $97,082,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 40.9% during the fourth 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. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $1,272,000. Finally, Bonfire Financial purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $490,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $56.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,452,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,878,533. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.77.

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.