226,500 Shares in Centene Corporation $CNC Acquired by Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 226,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,416,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Centene by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,338,000 after purchasing an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Centene by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,002,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,456,000 after buying an additional 603,585 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock opened at $65.69 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $56.67 and its 200-day moving average is $45.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.44 billion, a PE ratio of -5.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.55.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.78.

About Centene

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.