Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Harris Associates L P

Key Points

• Harris Associates L P sold 4,264,187 shares of Centene Corporation, reducing its holdings by 16.8%, which now represents about 2.2% of the investor's total portfolio.
• Centene's stock price has seen **significant downward revisions**, with various analysts lowering target prices to between $30.00 and $45.00, largely reflecting a consensus "Hold" rating.
• CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares at $25.50 each, increasing her stake, while Director Theodore R. Samuels II also acquired shares, indicating insider confidence despite recent stock performance challenges.

Harris Associates L P lessened its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,135,939 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,264,187 shares during the period. Centene comprises about 2.2% of Harris Associates L P's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Harris Associates L P owned 4.25% of Centene worth $1,283,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Centene by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,695 shares of the company's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Centene by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,964 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 2,242 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock worth $391,854,000 after buying an additional 1,578,917 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Centene by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 925,150 shares of the company's stock worth $56,046,000 after buying an additional 270,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,677,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 1.1%

CNC traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,106,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,184,450. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $77.29. The stock has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50-day moving average is $29.80 and its 200-day moving average is $48.83. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS 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 business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lowered Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays set a $33.00 price target on Centene and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.93.

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.