AIA Group Ltd Has $4.50 Million Position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd significantly increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 990.9%, acquiring an additional 67,290 shares to hold a total of 74,081 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Nuveen LLC and AQR Capital Management, have also made substantial investments in Centene, with institutional investors collectively owning 93.63% of the company.
• Analysts have recently downgraded Centene's stock, with consensus ratings showing one sell, fourteen holds, and three buys, resulting in a consensus price target of $42.20.

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 990.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,081 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 67,290 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Centene were worth $4,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Centene by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the company's stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in Centene by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,811 shares of the company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Centene by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,387 shares of the company's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Centene by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,216 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.12. 16,242,302 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,727,420. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value 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 represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.20.

About Centene

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.