Farallon Capital Management LLC Sells 439,700 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Farallon Capital Management LLC cut its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,168,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 439,700 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Centene worth $143,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 914,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,011,000 after acquiring an additional 36,973 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,648,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Centene by 70.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 8,387 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Centene by 2.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 88,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,858,000 after buying an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $75.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $63.45 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.43.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CNC. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

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.