Invesco Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 5.1%, now owning over 11 million shares valued at approximately $673 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their positions in Centene, with AQR Capital Management increasing its stake by 42.8% in the fourth quarter.
• Centene reported lower-than-expected earnings for the last quarter, with an EPS of ($0.16), missing estimates by ($0.39), despite revenues surpassing expectations at $48.74 billion.

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,091,964 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 536,508 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 2.23% of Centene worth $673,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319,952 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock worth $136,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,582 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 111.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company's stock worth $219,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902,277 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 worth $228,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,578,917 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of CNC opened at $25.58 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $40.30 and its 200 day moving average is $53.24. The company has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $80.59. 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 issued its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.20.

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.

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