Junto Capital Management LP Makes New $31.40 Million Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 518,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,400,000. Junto Capital Management LP owned about 0.10% of Centene as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 5.0% in 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 during the period. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Centene by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company's stock worth $2,189,000 after buying an additional 14,671 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd boosted its position in shares of Centene by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Centene by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock worth $97,082,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 5,550 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.77.

Centene Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Centene stock opened at $62.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $60.53 and its 200 day moving average is $60.50. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities 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.

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