977,215 Shares in Centene Corporation $CNC Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 977,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,743,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,676,000 after acquiring an additional 190,334 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the second quarter valued at about $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 117.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,338,000 after buying an additional 697,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its stake in Centene by 184.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $65.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.17 and a 200 day moving average of $52.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.26, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.24 and a 52 week high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene 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 transaction of $3,111,332.08. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 305,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,957,937.44. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.