Invesco Ltd. Has $639.45 Million Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 2.09% of Centene worth $639,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,474,000 after buying an additional 32,139 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Centene by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 385,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,345,000 after acquiring an additional 32,304 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 670,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,642,000 after purchasing an additional 83,278 shares during the period. Finally, Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 195,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,842,000 after purchasing an additional 78,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

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Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.82. 3,887,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,701,515. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.65. Centene Co. has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year 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.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.