Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Bought by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Centene by 426.8% in Q4, buying an additional 1,878,064 shares to hold 2,318,075 shares (~$95.39M, or 0.47% of the company).
• Centene beat Q4 estimates with ($1.19) EPS vs. ($1.22) expected and revenue of $49.73B (up 21.9% YoY), but reported a negative net margin (‑3.43%); management set FY2026 guidance at 3.00 EPS and analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average target of $41.81.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 93.63%, and several large funds (AQR, Deerfield, Arrowstreet, Ameriprise) materially increased their Centene positions in recent quarters, signaling significant institutional accumulation.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 426.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,318,075 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,878,064 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.47% of Centene worth $95,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 76.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company's stock worth $522,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,356,152 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its position in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company's stock worth $322,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Centene by 32.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,716,056 shares of the company's stock worth $310,989,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,674 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 34.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,290,041 shares of the company's stock worth $260,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,881,041 shares during the period. Finally, 8 Knots Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth about $186,662,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $37.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.74, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50-day moving average is $38.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.95. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $64.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.41 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. Centene's revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Centene from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.81.

About Centene

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene's offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.

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