Grove Bank & Trust Increases Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,039 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,075 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Centene were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in Centene by 1,190.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at about $66,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 1.1 %

CNC opened at $62.19 on Monday. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $81.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.