Stanley Capital Management LLC Has $20.11 Million Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Stanley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 51.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 331,912 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 113,112 shares during the quarter. Centene comprises 3.9% of Stanley Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Stanley Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $20,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Centene by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,346,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Centene by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 471,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,571,000 after purchasing an additional 55,475 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $759,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $61.78 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.45. The stock has a market cap of $30.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.77.

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.