Trust Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Trust Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 579 shares during the period. Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 203.1% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 273.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $25.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.88. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business 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%. Centene’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CNC. Barclays dropped their price target on Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America cut Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.20.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Centene

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.