Insider Buying: Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Director Buys $294,300.00 in Stock

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $59.71 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.29. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $30.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 174.3% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Centene by 75.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.92.

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.