Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,477 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.07% of Centene worth $27,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,307,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at $76,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 25,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Centene by 526.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,413,000 after buying an additional 47,257 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in Centene by 24.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after buying an additional 4,122 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $60.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.93. 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 twelve month low of $57.20 and a twelve month high of $81.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Centene Company Profile

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.