Centene Corporation $CNC Stock Holdings Decreased by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Centene Corporation by 0.8%, selling 17,093 shares, yet still holds approximately $133 million worth of shares.
• Centene reported a loss of $0.16 EPS for the last quarter, significantly missing estimates, though revenue rose by 22.4% year-over-year, reaching $48.74 billion.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.63% of Centene's stock, demonstrating substantial confidence in the company's future prospects.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,196,444 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,093 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.44% of Centene worth $133,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNC. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $146,557,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Centene by 155.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock worth $236,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,280 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Centene by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Centene by 1,788.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock worth $136,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,582 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Centene by 111.5% during the first 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Down 2.0%

CNC stock traded down $0.5790 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.8210. 12,588,681 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,699,977. The company has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.28.

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

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.20.

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.