Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 40,148 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in Centene Corporation by 5.3%, holding 711,140 shares, valued at approximately $43.17 million.
• Despite the reduced stake from some investors, AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its holdings by 42.7% during the same quarter.
• Centene's stock price hit $34.15 recently, with analysts adjusting targets down to as low as $30.00 in response to recent earnings misses and market conditions.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 711,140 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,148 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.14% of Centene worth $43,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 42.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company's stock worth $669,820,000 after buying an additional 3,306,796 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $146,557,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Centene by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock worth $236,802,000 after buying an additional 2,373,280 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Centene by 1,788.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock worth $136,033,000 after buying an additional 2,126,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Centene by 111.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company's stock worth $219,055,000 after buying an additional 1,902,277 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, 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. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price target (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays raised their target price on Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.33.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.34. The company had a trading volume of 10,891,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,203,019. 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 stock has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.08. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $77.29.

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

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.