Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Weiss Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Weiss Asset Management LP cut its Centene stake by 11.9% in the first quarter, selling 100,070 shares and ending with 738,965 shares worth about $24.2 million.
• Centene continues to draw mixed but generally cautious analyst sentiment: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $64.61, though several firms recently raised targets.
• The company posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting EPS of $3.37 versus the $2.23 estimate and revenue of $49.94 billion, up 7.1% year over year.

Weiss Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 738,965 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,070 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.15% of Centene worth $24,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.1% in the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,165,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Centene by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,465 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.3% during the first quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 24,013 shares of the company's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Centene from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.61.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $63.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a PE ratio of -4.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.07. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $69.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.69.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.Centene's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Profile

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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