Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Harris Associates L P

Harris Associates L P increased its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares during the period. Centene makes up 2.6% of Harris Associates L P’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Harris Associates L P owned approximately 5.21% of Centene worth $1,980,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Centene by 526.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,413,000 after purchasing an additional 47,257 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in Centene by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 87,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after buying an additional 9,160 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $60.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.20 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.70.

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.