Praxis Investment Management Inc. Takes $976,000 Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation, acquiring 17,990 shares valued at approximately $976,000 during the second quarter.
• Centene's CEO, Sarah London, increased her ownership by purchasing 19,230 shares for about $490,365, while Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares at a total value of $248,580.
• Centene stock recently declined by 1.0%, with a current market cap of $17.34 billion and a reported loss of ($0.16) EPS for the last quarter, missing expectations by ($0.39).

Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 17,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,091,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $673,393,000 after acquiring an additional 536,508 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 42.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306,796 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,810,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,045,000 after acquiring an additional 143,573 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,433,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,134,000 after acquiring an additional 28,462 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Centene by 23.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,055,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,225,000 after purchasing an additional 776,331 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $35.30 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $70.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.77. The company has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. 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 announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CNC. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.50.

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.

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