Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Decreases Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lowered its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 18.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,565,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 346,266 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Centene were worth $117,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Centene by 3.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,255,000 after buying an additional 194,566 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,117,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Centene by 8.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,707,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 22.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,799,000 after buying an additional 832,318 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $60.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $65.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.93.

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.