Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 41,082 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,229 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,082 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Centene were worth $7,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 valued at $13,398,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14,671 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd increased its stake in shares of Centene by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Centene by 27.3% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Centene by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.73. 4,212,643 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,774,638. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The business's fifty day moving average is $60.23 and its 200-day moving average is $60.46. 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 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.