Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 101,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,173,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $1,536,167,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $639,450,000 after buying an additional 1,884,358 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Centene by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company's stock worth $228,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,265 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Centene by 693.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company's stock worth $103,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,935 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded up $2.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,853,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,763,831. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The business's 50-day moving average is $60.27 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. The firm has a market cap of $30.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.