Aberdeen Group plc Grows Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 4.5% in Q2 2023, owning approximately 356,771 shares valued at $19.37 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Farther Finance Advisors LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have also significantly increased their positions in Centene during the first quarter of 2023.
• Centene's stock has recently seen a price target fluctuation, with Barclays raising its target from $33 to $35 and UBS Group lowering theirs from $45 to $31, reflecting a mixed outlook from analysts.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 356,771 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,309 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.07% of Centene worth $19,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company's stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 2,181 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 136,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,267,000 after buying an additional 45,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 75,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,554,000 after buying an additional 4,396 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays increased their target price on Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.07.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $36.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day moving average is $31.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.22. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $73.14.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The business had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

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.

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