Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Has $1.37 Million Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC significantly increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 404.2% during Q1, acquiring an additional 18,108 shares for a total of 22,588 shares worth approximately $1.37 million.
• Centene's stock saw an increase of 1.9%, with shares opening at $29.60 and a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, despite missing earnings estimates last quarter.
• CEO Sarah London and Director Theodore R. Samuels II recently made significant stock purchases, signaling confidence in the company's future prospects.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 404.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,588 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,108 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $1,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Centene from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 purchased at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.97. 14,106,172 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,184,450. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.76. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $77.29.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.