Capital World Investors Cuts Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Capital World Investors lessened its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,504,247 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,061,954 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 3.47% of Centene worth $1,060,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $1,536,167,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Centene by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock worth $639,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,358 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,803,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,412,000 after purchasing an additional 130,895 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Centene by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,279,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,668,000 after acquiring an additional 480,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,786,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,425 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.69.

Centene Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $1.88 on Wednesday, hitting $62.11. 4,219,916 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,716,544. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $59.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.13.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.