Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 84,365 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Centene Corporation by 9.5%, selling 84,365 shares and ending the quarter with a total of 802,668 shares.
• Centene reported a loss of ($0.16) EPS for its recent quarter, significantly missing the consensus estimate, but its revenue rose by 22.4% compared to the previous year.
• Several analysts have downgraded Centene's stock, with Morgan Stanley lowering its price target from $33.00 to $28.00, reflecting a cautious outlook from the investment community.

Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 802,668 shares of the company's stock after selling 84,365 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Centene worth $48,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Centene by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,345 shares of the company's stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,760 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,265 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 302.1% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNC. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America cut Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.20.

Centene Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.5170 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.3270. 10,876,442 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,163,565. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $34.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.68. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.