Franklin Resources Inc. Has $6.59 Million Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 57.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,760 shares of the company's stock after selling 149,323 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Centene were worth $6,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Centene by 73.4% in the 4th 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. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its position in Centene by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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 raised shares of Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $53.00 to $64.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.85.

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Centene Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE CNC traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $62.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,459,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,688,864. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The stock's 50 day moving average is $59.49 and its 200-day moving average is $61.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene 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.