Sector Gamma AS Purchases 44,899 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Sector Gamma AS lifted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 258,109 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 44,899 shares during the period. Centene comprises 2.4% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned about 0.05% of Centene worth $10,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its holdings in Centene by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Centene by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.24.

Centene Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $63.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.83, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $66.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.90 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene Company 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.