Groupama Asset Managment Sells 19,677 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Groupama Asset Managment cut its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 53.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,948 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,677 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Centene were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in Centene by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.92.

Centene Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Monday, hitting $61.44. 2,291,966 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,629,494. The stock has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.81, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.16. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month 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.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company'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 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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.