CenterBook Partners LP Sells 22,573 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP has reduced its stake in Centene Corporation by 75.9%, now holding 7,186 shares after selling 22,573 shares in the first quarter.
• Several large institutional investors have recently increased their positions in Centene, indicating significant interest with 93.63% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors.
• Centene's latest earnings report showed a substantial revenue of $48.74 billion, although it missed earnings per share estimates, reporting a loss of ($0.16) against expectations of $0.23.

CenterBook Partners LP decreased its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 75.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,186 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,573 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Centene were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319,952 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,917 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Centene by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,760,000 after purchasing an additional 443,121 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Centene by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,055,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,225,000 after purchasing an additional 776,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,004,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,092,000 after purchasing an additional 200,716 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC traded up $0.41 on Tuesday, hitting $25.66. 8,003,129 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,378,104. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.71 and a 200-day moving average of $52.88. The stock has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 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 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

About Centene

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.