Politan Capital Management LP Sells 3,362,610 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Politan Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,772,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,362,610 shares during the period. Centene makes up 34.4% of Politan Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Politan Capital Management LP owned about 1.74% of Centene worth $531,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 73.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $59.56 on Thursday. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.47.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.77.

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.