38,733 Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Bought by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 38,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,346,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 7,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Centene by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Centene by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 81,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,928,000 after purchasing an additional 18,808 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 693.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $62.19 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.33. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.92.

Centene 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.