Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC reduced its Centene stake by 2.3% in the second quarter, selling 22,701 shares and retaining 977,215 shares worth approximately $62.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.63% of the company.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Centene, with an average price target of $70.05. Recent targets range from $63 to $79, including a $74 target from Bank of America and a $79 target from UBS.
• Centene reported quarterly earnings of $2.51 per share, well above the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $53.58 billion, up 9.9% year over year. The stock opened at $66.92, near its 52-week high of $69.36.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 977,215 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,701 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.20% of Centene worth $62,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Centene by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $63.00 target price on Centene and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Centene Trading Down 0.2%

Centene stock opened at $66.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.24 and a 52 week high of $69.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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