abrdn plc Cuts Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

abrdn plc lessened its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 165,167 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,305 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in Centene by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,932,000 after buying an additional 1,420,825 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Centene by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,683,000 after buying an additional 111,654 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Centene by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,255,000 after buying an additional 194,566 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Centene by 693.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,935 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Centene Trading Up 0.5 %

CNC opened at $58.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.25 and a 200-day moving average of $67.00. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 13.32%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 40,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,409,962. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.