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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 5.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 200,716 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth $1,450,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth $1,458,000. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Centene by 4.5% in the first quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Finally, Factorial Partners LLC increased its position in Centene by 34.6% in the first quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 72,000 shares of the company's stock worth $4,371,000 after buying an additional 18,500 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $65.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.20.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $26.87. 6,752,734 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,426,892. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.70. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $80.59. The company has a market cap of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 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 (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released 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). 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 last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the firm'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 transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.