Blueshift Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 128.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,016 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,523 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 693.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,935 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Centene by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,786,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,425 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,736,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 4,390.8% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 687,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,668,000 after purchasing an additional 672,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $59.26 on Thursday. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.43. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Centene’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

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.