Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 36,138 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 88.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,138 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Centene were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Centene by 17.1% during the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after purchasing an additional 99,904 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 7,385 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Centene by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,063,000 after acquiring an additional 191,768 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 526.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,413,000 after acquiring an additional 47,257 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $60.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $57.20 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CNC. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

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.