Avidity Partners Management LP Invests $4.91 Million in Centene Corporation $CNC

Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNCFree Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 119,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,913,000. Centene comprises approximately 1.4% of Avidity Partners Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Centene by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. raised its position in shares of Centene by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE CNC opened at $65.18 on Friday. 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 one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $66.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Centene (NYSE:CNCGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $63.00 target price on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.24.

View Our Latest Analysis on Centene

Centene Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Centene (NYSE:CNC)

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