Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 9.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,002,085 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,334 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Centene were worth $74,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Centene by 41.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Centene by 154.6% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $60.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a one year low of $57.20 and a one year high of $81.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

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.