Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 59.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,347 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,792 shares during the quarter. Centene makes up approximately 0.7% of Aigen Investment Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Centene were worth $4,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,726 shares of the company's stock worth $7,474,000 after acquiring an additional 32,139 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $53,736,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Centene by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 246,829 shares of the company's stock worth $14,953,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 96,203 shares of the company's stock worth $5,828,000 after acquiring an additional 31,943 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Centene by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,216 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.20.
Check Out Our Latest Report on CNC
Centene Stock Up 3.4%
Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.87 on Tuesday, hitting $26.12. 16,242,302 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,727,420. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.46, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.70.
Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released 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). Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Centene
In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.
Centene Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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