Boston Partners Sells 7,624,593 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Boston Partners lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 83.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,528,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,624,593 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Centene were worth $92,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in Centene by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.6 %

Centene stock opened at $59.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.47 and a 200 day moving average of $63.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. 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 (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Company Profile

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.