Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Trims Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 46.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,023 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,950 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,396,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,169,768,000 after buying an additional 869,706 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,435,997,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Centene by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,186,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,586,000 after acquiring an additional 514,600 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 76.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,356,152 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,725,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $636,482,000 after purchasing an additional 633,946 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 0.9%

Centene stock opened at $34.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.51. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $66.03. The company has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of -2.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.41 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.Centene’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Centene from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Centene from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.06.

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.