Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,119,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388,131 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $46,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 76.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,356,152 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. grew its holdings in Centene by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $186,662,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Centene by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,716,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,989,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 705.4% during the 3rd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,299,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CNC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Centene from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.81.

Centene Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $37.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $64.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.41 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Centene 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.