Eversept Partners LP Trims Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Eversept Partners LP reduced its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 65.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 111,652 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212,440 shares during the period. Eversept Partners LP’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,518,000 after acquiring an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Centene by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,171,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,111,000 after buying an additional 2,472,341 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Centene by 535.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,750,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317,618 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $63.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.57 billion, a PE ratio of -4.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.07. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.85.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.43. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. Analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.61.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.