Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 12,100 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 471,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,100 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in Centene were worth $28,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 73.4% during 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. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 6.2 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $57.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.10 and a 200-day moving average of $60.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $28.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.70. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim began coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.69.

Centene 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.