Woodline Partners LP Makes New $9.83 Million Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 162,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,825,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. iSAM Funds UK Ltd grew its holdings in Centene by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 5,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $79,370,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of 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. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 61,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,752,000 after acquiring an additional 19,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 198.9% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.77.

Centene Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CNC traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.65. 1,221,355 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,877,848. The stock has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average is $60.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.27. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month 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.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company 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 firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Centene's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share 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.