Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Holdings Lowered by Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC cut its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 6.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 922,319 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,024 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $69,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at about $914,080,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Centene by 60.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,838,000 after acquiring an additional 416,003 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Centene stock opened at $59.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.68. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $57.20 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNC. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 research report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.