Prosight Management LP Invests $3.33 Million in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Prosight Management LP bought a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 55,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,332,000. Centene makes up 0.9% of Prosight Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $639,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,358 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,952 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,917 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Centene by 9.1% during 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.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.89. 1,204,411 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,813,657. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.72 and a 200 day moving average of $60.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.77.

About Centene

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.