Strs Ohio Invests $5.46 Million in Centene Corporation $CNC

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 90,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,464,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,820,000 after buying an additional 3,306,796 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter worth $146,557,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,280 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 111.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE CNC opened at $33.20 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.74 and its 200-day moving average is $47.76. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $77.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.44. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Mizuho cut their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Centene from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. 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.