Centene Corporation $CNC Stock Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 814,388 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 167,680 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Centene were worth $50,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Centene by 423.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10,757,914 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,173,000 after purchasing an additional 608,249 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Centene by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,518,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,818,000 after purchasing an additional 802,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $285,713,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CNC. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised Centene from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.60.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $68.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.63 and a 12-month high of $72.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.12 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Centene

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise price targets. Wells Fargo lifted its target from $69 to $75 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating. JPMorgan also raised its target from $67 to $75, and UBS increased its target from $70 to $78. These revisions suggest analysts see additional value after Centene’s earnings update, even though the ratings remain cautious. Wells Fargo analyst update JPMorgan analyst update UBS analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results and higher guidance support the stock. Centene exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, and its quarterly revenue increased year over year. The company’s guidance increase reinforces expectations for improved profitability and prompted additional analyst optimism. Centene Q3 earnings and guidance Centene guidance increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings remain restrained. Wells Fargo and UBS retain “equal weight” or “neutral” recommendations, indicating that the higher targets reflect moderate appreciation potential rather than a strong conviction that CNC is significantly undervalued. Centene analyst price target update
• Negative Sentiment: Membership pressure remains a key risk. Coverage has highlighted lingering membership challenges and uncertainty over whether Centene can maintain a stable health benefits ratio. These issues could offset the benefit of stronger earnings and guidance if they pressure margins or future revenue growth. Centene membership pressures Centene health benefits ratio analysis

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.