Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Position Raised by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 49.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 78,174 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,792 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $4,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of 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 period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Centene by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at about $66,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 77.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 588.0% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Centene Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $64.64 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, 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. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.