Boston Partners Buys 2,373,280 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Boston Partners significantly increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 155.3%, acquiring an additional 2,373,280 shares, bringing their total holdings to approximately 3.9 million shares valued at $236.8 million.
• Centene reported a quarterly loss of ($0.16) EPS, falling short of analysts' expectations, although its revenue of $48.74 billion exceeded forecasts, marking a 22.4% year-over-year increase.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Sarah London buying 19,230 shares, raising her stake in the company, while recent analyst downgrades have affected Centene's stock ratings and price targets.

Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 155.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,373,280 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 0.78% of Centene worth $236,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 1st quarter worth about $146,557,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Centene by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,053,000 after buying an additional 2,319,952 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased 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 valued at $136,033,000 after buying an additional 2,126,582 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Centene by 111.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company's stock worth $219,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Centene by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company's stock worth $228,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America downgraded Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.20.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded up $1.57 on Friday, reaching $28.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,596,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,570,596. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $37.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.92.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the purchase, the director 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Company 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.