D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,820,000 after buying an additional 3,306,796 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $146,557,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 155.3% during 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 during the period. 8 Knots Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 52.5% during the 1st quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 3,050,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,648 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 588.1% during the 1st quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 1,042,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,284,000 after purchasing an additional 890,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Truist Financial set a $42.00 price objective on Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Centene from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

Centene Stock Down 0.9%

CNC stock opened at $34.07 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $70.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of Centene 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 purchase, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.