Centene Corporation $CNC Stake Boosted by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 83.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,270 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,181 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 3.1% in 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 worth $292,045,000 after purchasing an additional 143,573 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth $327,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 4.6% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth $365,000. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the first quarter worth $280,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $32.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.44. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $77.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.58.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for 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%.Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company 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.