USS Investment Management Ltd Has $5.34 Million Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $1,536,167,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,884,358 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319,952 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock worth $391,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Centene by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company's stock worth $320,760,000 after purchasing an additional 443,121 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,666,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,795,104. The company has a market cap of $28.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. 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's 50-day moving average is $60.71 and its 200 day moving average is $60.28. 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 announced its 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 business had revenue of $46.62 billion during 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%. Centene's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CNC. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.77.

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.