Ameriprise Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has decreased its holdings in Centene Corporation by 16.7%, selling over 1 million shares and now owning approximately 5.39 million shares worth $327.18 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for Centene show a downward trend, with several firms reducing target prices and ratings, leading to a consensus "Hold" rating and an average target price of $42.20.
• Centene's most recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss of ($0.16) EPS, falling short of the estimated consensus of $0.23, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 22.4% to $48.74 billion.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,389,860 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,079,202 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 1.08% of Centene worth $327,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 203.1% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Centene by 273.8% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 927 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.20.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $29.3270 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $80.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.81. 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 $14.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.26, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) 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 company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Centene's revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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