May 11, 2023 – &LPL Financial LLC, a prestigious institutional investor in the financial world, has recently filed its Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosing a reduction of its stock position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by an astonishing 14.0% during the fourth quarter of the previous year. According to the most recent filing, LPL Financial LLC currently holds approximately 125,979 shares of this healthcare enterprise’s stock after selling over 20,000 shares throughout that time period. These shares are estimated to be valued at $10,332,000 at the end of this reporting period.
Centene Corp., founded in 1984 and headquartered in St. Louis, MO., is a distinguished healthcare enterprise that offers programs and services under government-sponsored healthcare plans through its Medicaid, Medicare and Commercial segments amongst others. CNC opened on Thursday at $66.86 with a current market cap of $36.69 billion. As per market charts reflecting financial statistics for CNC’s one-year low ($61.71) and high ($98.53), investors have been speculating about CNC’s future prospects along with implications for evolving trends in other medical stocks.
In addition to market capitalization figures and value evaluations obtained from P/E ratios (25:33), beta scores (0:56), PEG (Price-to-Earnings Growth) ratios (0:92), quick ratios (1:07), debt-to-equity ratios standing at 0:72 and more; analyzing each filing reveal intricate nuances accounting significant insights into investor sentiment as well as corporate policies.
The shareholders’ positions presented within Form 13F filings represent an essential indication into their financial standpoint regarding respective firms’ performance in multiple areas ranging from long-term outlooks to business model adaptability amidst growing social challenges such as those posed by COVID-19 pandemic consequences.
CNC’s proactive approach to catering its medical services has helped the corporation sustain its remarkable growth trajectory. As a result, CNC is well-positioned in the healthcare sector.
Investors around the world look forward to garnering new insights from forthcoming filings and reports on Centene Corp. With a long history of standing up to market turbulence and relatively strong financial position, Centene continues receiving high attention in investment circles. As investors keep an eagle eye on the company’s next strategic moves regarding various government-sponsored healthcare programs, managing Centene Corp. today sits at the crux of analysts’ discussions.
Centene Corporation: Investor Activity, CEO Stock Purchase, and Q1 Earnings Report
Centene Corporation is a healthcare enterprise based in St. Louis, MO, providing services and programs to government-sponsored healthcare programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other. According to recent investment reports from May 11th, 2023, institutional investors have increased or reduced their stakes in Centene’s shares. Among others, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position by an outstanding 5,700%, now owning 348 shares worth $29,000 of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 342 shares within the last quarter.
Notably, CEO Sarah London made headlines on Friday, March 17th when she acquired approximately $1.9 million worth of Centene’s stock through the purchase of 30k shares at an average price per share of $62.60. Following the transaction, CEO London held around 314k shares valued at almost $20 million.
However, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 1,400 shares of CNC’s stock on April 27th at an average price of $66.59 apiece for a total transaction amounting to over $93k.
Regarding the company’s financial performance as indicated in CNC’s quarterly earnings report released on April 25th this year: Centene posted revenue totaling $38.89 billion for Q1 compared to analyst estimates of only $36.09 billion and had a net margin of only over one percent with a return on equity amounting to roughly around thirteen percent respectively.
Although CNC reported earnings per share (EPS) missing consensus expectations by 12 cents during Q1-2023 reporting period which was calculated at about $2.11 instead of anticipated earnings of about $2.23 EPS according to analysts polled by FactSet research.
In light of these developments described above though not limited to changes reported among institutional investors regarding ownership stakes in CNC stocks alongside notable share purchases by its CEO Sarah London and share sales by its Director Lori Jean Robinson alongside the company’s recent Q1 earnings report publication misstep, the healthcare sector outlook remains cautiously optimistic. For Centene, most major research houses either currently assign a “buy” rating or have recently done so. The stock currently has a consensus of “Moderate Buy” according to data from Bloomberg.com with an average target price of $92.
