Stifel Financial Corp Trims Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 48.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,562 shares of the company's stock after selling 86,916 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Centene were worth $5,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company's stock worth $13,398,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in Centene by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 14,671 shares during the last quarter. Polianta Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Centene by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,082,000 after buying an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.33 on Monday, reaching $60.49. 1,025,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,706,303. The firm has a market cap of $30.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.17 and a 200-day moving average of $60.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Argus lowered Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven investment 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 presently 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.