Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Increases Stock Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 76.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 128,349 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 55,612 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Centene by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after buying an additional 190,334 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Centene by 76.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,885,000 after buying an additional 6,356,152 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Centene by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. grew its position in Centene by 184.0% during the third 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. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Centene by 32.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,716,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,989,000 after buying an additional 2,111,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of CNC opened at $66.23 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.77. The company has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.04, 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. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $66.55.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CNC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $63.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.24.

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.