Focus Partners Wealth Acquires 19,181 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 83.1%, now holding 42,270 shares valued at $2,566,000, reflecting significant confidence in the company.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their holdings in Centene, with hedge funds owning 93.63% of the stock, indicating institutional trust in its performance despite recent challenges.
• Analysts have cut their price targets for Centene sharply, with Mizuho reducing it from $71.00 to $40.00, showing a shift in market sentiment and expectations for the company's stock.

Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 83.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,270 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,181 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Centene were worth $2,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 42.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,820,000 after buying an additional 3,306,796 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $146,557,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Centene by 155.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,802,000 after buying an additional 2,373,280 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Down 1.2%

CNC stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.77. 21,226,090 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,909,675. The firm's 50 day moving average is $28.70 and its 200 day moving average is $47.00. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $76.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $15.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Centene from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.33.

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.