Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Sells 3,906 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd trimmed its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,906 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 75.3% during the fourth 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 shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Centene by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $61.27 on Tuesday. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.63 and its 200 day moving average is $62.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

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.