Korea Investment CORP Has $21.42 Million Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has increased its holdings in Centene Corporation by 12.0%, owning approximately 352,897 shares valued at $21.42 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their investments in Centene, with Boston Partners boosting its holdings by 155.3% and Two Sigma Investments increasing theirs by 1,788.1% during recent quarters.
• Centene's recent earnings report revealed a loss of ($0.16) EPS, missing analysts' expectations, despite a revenue increase of 22.4% year-over-year to $48.74 billion.

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 352,897 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,858 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.07% of Centene worth $21,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the first quarter worth approximately $146,557,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Centene by 155.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock worth $236,802,000 after buying an additional 2,373,280 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,319,952 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,126,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,902,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CNC. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $29.3560 on Thursday. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The company had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The company's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

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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