Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 200,716 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 5.3% in the first quarter, holding $243.09 million worth of shares.
• Centene reported a loss of ($0.16) earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates significantly while revenue rose 22.4% year-over-year.
• Multiple analysts have downgraded Centene, with target prices cut significantly, reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $42.20.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,004,153 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 200,716 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.80% of Centene worth $243,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,902,277 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802,265 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,578,917 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNC. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. 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 acquired 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.12. 16,242,302 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,727,420. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.70. The firm has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Centene 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.