Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 18,146 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Ninety One UK Ltd lowered its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,493,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,146 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $92,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth $30,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Centene in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.38 on Thursday, reaching $70.54. 2,255,400 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,638,173. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.76, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.13. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.63 and a fifty-two week high of $71.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Centene from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price objective on Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.