23,889 Shares in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Acquired by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 23,889 shares of Centene Corporation, valued at approximately $1.45 million, marking a new significant investment in the company.
• Institutional ownership of Centene is notably high, with 93.63% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors, highlighting a strong interest from large financial entities.
• Recent analyst reports have led to a decrease in target prices for Centene’s stock, with the current average rating being "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.20.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,450,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AXS Investments LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter worth $1,458,000. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 4.5% in the first quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Factorial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 34.6% in the first quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 72,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,371,000 after acquiring an additional 18,500 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 108.3% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the period. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 38.1% in the first quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 15,749 shares of the company's stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 4,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $25.25. The stock had a trading volume of 10,634,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,383,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 6.25, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of America cut 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 research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.