Quantinno Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Quantinno Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 67.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,075 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 73.4% in 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. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE CNC opened at $61.89 on Wednesday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year 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 company has a market capitalization of $30.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.80 and a 200 day moving average of $60.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.