Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 10,757,914 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Wellington Management increased its Centene stake by 423% in the second quarter, purchasing 10.76 million shares and bringing its holdings to 13.3 million shares, worth approximately $853.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 93.63%, with BlackRock, AQR Capital Management, Norges Bank, Deerfield Management and Bank of America also making significant investments.
• Centene reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.51 versus the $1.09 consensus and revenue of $53.58 billion. Analysts’ average rating is “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $70.05 compared with the stock’s $64.91 opening price.

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 423.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,301,215 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,757,914 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.69% of Centene worth $853,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Centene by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company's stock worth $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company's stock worth $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter worth about $285,713,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research raised Centene from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CNC opened at $64.91 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.24 and a 1-year high of $69.36. The company has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $65.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.25.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene's offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.

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