Stanley Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 409,722 Centene Corporation $CNC

Stanley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 409,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,300,000. Centene makes up 3.5% of Stanley Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Stanley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Centene at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 3.1% in the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Summitry LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 1.1% during the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 23,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Centene by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in Centene by 3.1% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price target on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 305,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,957,937.44. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.1%

CNC opened at $64.92 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.80. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.24 and a twelve month high of $69.36. The stock has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22, a PEG 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 issued its 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 firm had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Centene

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.