Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stock Holdings Lifted by Voloridge Investment Management LLC

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 81.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,594,698 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 715,080 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $96,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,536,167,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,582 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,265 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $61.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.77.

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.