Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Centene Corporation by 42.9%, owning 550,658 shares valued at over $33 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Centene reported a miss in its quarterly earnings with a loss of ($0.16) EPS, significantly below the analysts' expectation of $0.23, despite a revenue of $48.74 billion that surpassed predictions.
• Various brokerages have adjusted their target prices for Centene, with Morgan Stanley lowering it from $33.00 to $28.00, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock which has a consensus rating of "Hold."

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 42.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 550,658 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 165,288 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.11% of Centene worth $33,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Centene by 3.5% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 155,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,440,000 after acquiring an additional 5,289 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 33.2% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 255,177 shares of the company's stock worth $15,492,000 after acquiring an additional 63,556 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 66,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,050,000 after buying an additional 5,825 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Centene by 990.9% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 74,081 shares of the company's stock worth $4,497,000 after buying an additional 67,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Centene by 55.5% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 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 purchase, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.5%

CNC traded up $0.1550 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.1450. 7,953,386 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,598,492. The stock has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.21, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The business's 50 day moving average is $36.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The business'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 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on CNC shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $65.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.20.

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.