Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Position Raised by Deutsche Bank AG

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its ownership in Centene Corporation by 13.3%, acquiring an additional 430,278 shares, reaching a total of 3,676,873 shares valued at approximately $223 million.
• Recent analyst reports have downgraded Centene's stock ratings, with target prices significantly reduced; Mizuho's target dropped from $71 to $40, and Bank of America's lowered from $52 to $30.
• Centene reported a loss of $0.16 per share in its latest earnings release, missing the expected consensus of a $0.23 profit, despite revenue growth of 22.4% year-over-year.

Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,676,873 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 430,278 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.74% of Centene worth $223,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Centene by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,732,000 after buying an additional 16,108 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Centene by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Centene by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 708,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,026,000 after buying an additional 163,462 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Centene by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 925,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,046,000 after buying an additional 270,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 588.1% in the 1st quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 1,042,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,284,000 after purchasing an additional 890,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Centene stock traded up $0.87 on Tuesday, hitting $26.12. 16,233,592 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,435,141. The stock has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.46, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm's 50-day moving average is $39.71 and its 200 day moving average is $52.88. 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 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). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%. The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

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