Panagora Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Centene Corporation by 61.7%, reducing its holdings to 535,858 shares, valued at approximately $32.5 million.
• Several hedge funds altered their positions in Centene, with notable increases from Boston Partners and Two Sigma Investments, contributing to 93.63% of the stock being held by institutional investors.
• Centene's Q2 earnings fell short of estimates, reporting a loss of ($0.16) per share, despite achieving revenues of $48.74 billion, up by 22.4% year-over-year.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 61.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 535,858 shares of the company's stock after selling 862,741 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Centene worth $32,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter worth $146,557,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Centene by 155.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,802,000 after buying an additional 2,373,280 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake 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 valued at $136,033,000 after buying an additional 2,126,582 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake 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 valued at $219,055,000 after buying an additional 1,902,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 32.3% in 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 shares were bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Centene Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $29.03 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $32.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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