Stanley Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Stanley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 409,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,300,000. Centene accounts for about 3.5% of Stanley Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Centene by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Centene during the second quarter valued at $257,279,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $64.92 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.80. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.24 and a 52-week high of $69.36. The firm has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Argus raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.05.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.