Swedbank AB Has $88.97 Million Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Centene Corporation by 13.6% during the first quarter, selling over 231,000 shares, leaving it with a total of approximately 1.47 million shares valued at around $89 million.
• In contrast, some institutional investors, such as MassMutual Private Wealth and Carnegie Investment Counsel, increased their holdings in Centene, showcasing mixed sentiment among investors.
• Centene's recent financial performance included a revenue increase of 22.4% year-over-year, although it reported a loss per share of ($0.16) for the latest quarter, missing analysts' expectations.

Swedbank AB trimmed its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,465,482 shares of the company's stock after selling 231,623 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.29% of Centene worth $88,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306,796 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter worth about $146,557,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Centene by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock worth $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 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock worth $136,033,000 after buying an additional 2,126,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 111.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company's stock worth $219,055,000 after buying an additional 1,902,277 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $32.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,518,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,227,274. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $77.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Centene from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.