2,795,138 Shares in Centene Corporation $CNC Bought by Man Group plc

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,795,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $179,420,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Centene by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 305,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 target price on Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Centene Trading Down 1.1%

Centene stock opened at $64.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.24 and a 12 month high of $69.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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.