Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Acquired by Sector Gamma AS

Sector Gamma AS increased its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 258,109 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 44,899 shares during the period. Centene accounts for approximately 2.4% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in Centene were worth $10,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of Centene by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 8.0% in the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Centene by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $63.53 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $66.55. The company has a market cap of $31.37 billion, a PE ratio of -4.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.24.

Centene Profile

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.