Cerity Partners LLC Buys 25,412 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,587 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,412 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $6,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,799,000 after buying an additional 832,318 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Centene by 14.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in Centene by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,838,000 after purchasing an additional 416,003 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Centene by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,707,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,426 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 128.3% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 580,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,241,000 after purchasing an additional 326,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $59.92 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.12. The firm has a market cap of $30.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $57.20 and a 1-year high of $81.42.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Centene

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.