Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 32,304 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 385,370 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,304 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Centene worth $23,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Centene by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Centene stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $62.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 715,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,617,225. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.65. The company has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

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Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Argus cut Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.85.

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.