Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 212,377 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,482,640 shares of the company's stock after selling 212,377 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.29% of Centene worth $89,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 73.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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 raised Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.00.

Centene Trading Down 0.6 %

CNC traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,568,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,742,211. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. 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 $29.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $60.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.72.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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.