Insider Buying: Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Director Purchases $99,903.93 in Stock

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $59.49 on Thursday. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CNC shares. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced 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. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 17.1% in the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after acquiring an additional 99,904 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 15.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,063,000 after purchasing an additional 191,768 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 31.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 118,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,944,000 after buying an additional 28,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its holdings in Centene by 273.5% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 44,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,334,000 after buying an additional 32,428 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.