Vinva Investment Management Ltd Trims Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 66.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,834 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Centene by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $59.62 on Friday. Centene Co. has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $80.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.32 and its 200 day moving average is $63.41. The stock has a market cap of $29.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens cut their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.