Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Acquired by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 3.1%, acquiring an additional 143,573 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately 0.97%.
• Centene's quarterly earnings reported a loss of ($0.16) EPS, missing the consensus estimate, although revenue rose 22.4% year-over-year to $48.74 billion.
• Recent analyst reports have downgraded Centene's target price significantly, with Morgan Stanley lowering it from $33.00 to $28.00, reflecting a general "Hold" rating among analysts.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,810,489 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 143,573 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.97% of Centene worth $292,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 203.1% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $31.29 on Thursday. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $77.29. The firm has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $28.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.26. 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 (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CNC. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group lowered 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Centene from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The acquisition 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 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, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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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