Blueshift Asset Management LLC Sells 13,957 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC sold 13,957 shares of Centene Corporation, reducing its holdings by 58.1% to a total of 10,059 shares valued at $611,000.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their positions in Centene, with MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust increasing its holdings by 8.8%.
• Analysts have significantly cut their price targets for Centene, with Mizuho lowering it from $71.00 to $40.00 and Barclays from $65.00 to $45.00, leading to an average target of $45.31.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 58.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,059 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,957 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Centene by 8.8% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 2.8% in the first quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the company's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.31.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $25.92 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.11 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 6.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.59.

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). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%. The business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.

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